SILK  MANUFACTURING 
AND  ITS  PROBLEMS 


SILK 

MANUFACTURING  AND 
ITS  PROBLEMS 


BY 
JAMES  CHITTICK 


Being  a  series  of  papers  on  important  questions  of  interest 

to  all  those  engaged  in   the  Manufacture    and 

Distribution  of  Silks  and  Other  Textiles 


PUBLISHED  BY 

JAMJBS    CHITTICK 

NEW    YORK 

1913 


COPYRIGHT,  1913 

BY    JAMES    CHITTICK 

AIJ,     RIGHTS     RESERVED 


Printed  by 

THE   BARNES   PRINTING   CO. 
NEW    YORK 


TO 

ROBERT  S.   McCREERY,  Esq. 
OF  NEW  YORK 

This    volume    is    inscribed 

as  a  token  of  the  lasting  regard  of 

the  Author 


A  Matt,  a  Generous  Friend,  in  whom  you  find, 
Honour,   and  Worth,  and  Modesty  combined. 


3598o L 


PREFACE 


The  papers  which  have  been  here  assembled  were,  with  two  ex- 
ceptions originally  published  in  "Silk,"  during  the  period  from  Octo- 
ber, 1907,  to  October,  1912. 

In  preparing  them  for  publication  in  book  form,  extensive  re- 
visions, as  well  as  additions  to  the  text,  have  been  made,  so  as  to 
present  new  points  of  interest,  to  eliminate  matters  of  an  ephemeral 
character,  and  to  bring  all  of  the  articles  up  to  date. 

There  has  also  been  introduced  into  the  body  of  the  book  much 
additional  tabular  matter,  which  should  greatly  add  to  its  usefulness 
as  a  book  of  reference. 

In  addition,  there  will  be  found  interspersed  among  the  pages  of 
the  advertising  section  a  large  number  of  other  tables  of  much  value 
to  all  engaged  in  silk  manufacturing. 

While  these  articles  were  originally  written  for  the  benefit  of  the 
producers  and  distributers  of  silk  merchandise,  and  for  those  finan- 
cially interested  in  such  enterprises,  yet  the  majority  of  the  subjects 
discussed  are  of  equal  moment  to  those  engaged  in  the  cotton,  woolen, 
worsted,  and  knit  goods  branches  of  the  textile  industry. 

As  each  of  these  papers  is  a  complete  monograph  in  itself,  and  as 
some  of  them  touch  upon  one  or  more  points  discussed  in  other  articles 
in  the  book,  it  happens  that,  in  occasional  instances,  there  will  be  a 
repetition  of  matters  elsewhere  referred  to. 

Where  such  repetitions  have  occurred  they  have  been  allowed  to 

VII 


PREFACE  (Continued) 

stand,  so  as  not  to  detract  from  the  comprehensive  treatment  required 
for  each  subject  in  turn. 

The  contents  of  this  volume  are  founded  upon  the  personal  ex- 
perience and  observation  of  the  writer,  and  the  views  expressed  in 
connection  therewith  represent  his  unbiassed  opinions  regarding  the 
same. 

In  certain  cases  it  has  seemed  necessary  to  criticise  practices  of  an 
illogical  or  pernicious  character,  prevailing  in  different  branches  of 
the  industry.  While  frankly  expressing  his  views  concerning  them, 
it  has  been  with  the  hope  that,  in  voicing  these  criticisms,  they  might 
in  some  measure  assist  in  the  recognition  and  correction  of  the  abuses 
pointed  out. 

In  conclusion,  he  desires  to  express  his  sincere  thanks  to  those  rep- 
resentative concerns  which,  by  the  support  of  their  advertisements, 
have  assisted  in  the  bringing  out  of  the  book. 

JAMES  CHITTICK. 
ROSEVILLE,  NEWARK,  N.  J. 
June,  1913. 


VIII 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

1.  Selecting  a  Location  for  a  Mill 1 

2.  Purchasing  Raw  Silks  for  a  Mill 11 

•»'  3.  The   Characteristics  of  Japanese  Raw   Silks 19 

i  4.  Adulteration  of  Silk  Goods 30 

5.  Analysis  of  Percentages  and  Costs  of  Weightings 40 

6.  Cotton  Yarns  and   their  Use  in   Silk   Manufacture 57 

7.  Should  a  Mill  do  its  own  Throwing? 67 

8.  Should  a  Mill  do  its  own  Silk  Printing? 76 

9.  Should  a  Mill  do  its  own  Finishing? 84 

10.  Should  a  Mill  do  its  own  Dyeing? .v 95 

11.  Power   Transmission    in    Textile    Mills 109 

12.  Humidification  in  Textile  Mills 125 

13.  The  Testing,  or  Conditioning,  of  Silk  and  Other  Fibres 134 

^  14.  The  Costing  of  Broad  Silks  and  Ribbons  152 

15.  Cost  Sheets  and  Tables  of  Weights 175 

16.  Verification  of  Costs 191 

17.  Analysis  of  the  Relative  Costs  of  Plain  and  Fancy  Goods 204 

18.  The  Relations  between  Mills  and  their  Operatives 211 

19.  Questions  Relating  to  Mill  Help 219 

20.  Welfare  Work  among  Mill  Operatives 235 

21.  The  Relations  between  Mills  and  their  Commission  Houses 243 

-^  22.  The  Relations  between  Mills  and  their  Salesmen 266 

23.  Regarding  the  Cost  of  Sample  Collections 281 

-*  24.  Changes  in  Merchandising  Methods 284 

-J  25.  Specialization  in  Production 291 

i  26.  Advertised  Fabrics  300 

27.  The  Question  of  Making  Goods  for  Stock 306 

IX 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  (Continued) 

*  28.  Regarding  Auction   Sales 313 

j    29.  Finding   Foreign   Markets    for   Silks 320 

j  30.  Cotton    Mill    Competition 326 

31.  Directing  the  Production  of  a  Textile  Mill 334 

-4  32.  Imperfections  in  Manufactured  Goods 345 

33.  Claims,  Cancellations  and  Returns 357 

34.  The  Question  of  Prices  to  use  in  Stock  Taking 363 

35.  What  to  Figure  for  Depreciation  of  Plant 370 

36.  Capital  Required  in  Silk  Manufacturing 379 

37.  The  Curtailment  of   Mill  Credits 385 

38.  Plan  for  the  Creation  of  a  Great  Silk  Corporation 396 

39.  The  Denier  System  of  Silk  Measure  and  its  Origin 405 

40.  Efficiency  Standards  in  Manufacturing 411 

INDEX    419 

After  the  Index  will  be  found  the  Advertising  Section,  together  with  the 
Reference  Tables  contained  therein. 


LIST  OF 
TABLES,  TABULAR  MATTER,  ETC 


PAGE 

Raw    Silk    Classifications 15 

Boil-offs  of  Various  Raw   Silks , 20 

Japan  Rereels  and  their   Gradings    27 

How  Weightings  are  Modified  by  Boil-offs 45 

How  Boil-offs   affect  Dyeing  Costs. 47,  49-51 

Silk   Lot   Combination    Test    Record 54-55 

Twist  of  Cotton  Yarns 59 

Raw   Cotton  Classifications    63-64 

Lengths  and  Diameters  of  Cotton  Fibres 66 

Speeds  of  Silk  Throwing  Machinery '. 72 

Silk    Throwing    Prices 75 

Wastage  in  Silk  Throwing   75 

Silk  Printers'  Price  List 83 

Supplies  used  in  Silk  Finishing 89 

Silk   Finishers'    Price   List 93-94 

Silk  Skein  Dyers'  Price  List 97 

Efficiency  of  Methods  of  Water  Extraction 105 

Silk  Piece  Dyers'  Price  List 107-108 

Relative  Values  of  Coals 113 

Moisture  in  Textile  Fibres 126 

Fluctuations  in  Atmospheric  Moisture 127 

Diagram  of   Saturation 132 

Rules  and  Regulations  for  Raw  Silk  Trading 138-143 

Silk   Throwsters'    Rules   and   Regulations 143-144 

Conditioning  House  Charges  for  Tests 145 

XI 


LIST  OF  TABLES,  TABULAR  MATTER,  ETC. 

Continued 

Rule  for  Figuring  Throwing  Waste 149 

Elasticity  of  Raw  Silk 150 

Tenacity  of  Raw  Silk   151 

Rules  for  Determining  Silk  Counts 166-167 

Broad  Silk  Cost  Calculation 168 

Analysis  of  Broad  Silk  Cost  Sheet 172 

Analysis  of  Ribbon  Cost  Sheet 172 

Ribbon  Cost  Calculation — Single  Ribbon 173 

Ribbon  Cost  Calculation— Full  Warp  174 

Broad  Silk  Cost  Calculation,  Amplified  Form 176 

Silk   Warp   Tables 182-184 

Silk  Filling  Tables 185-190 

Cost  Calculation  Analysis 196 

Relative  Wages  in  Paterson,  N.  J.,  and   Scranton,   Pa 221-222 

Wages  in  the  Silk  Trade,  United  States  and  Abroad 222-224 

Paterson  Wage  Scale   for  Silk  Operatives 225-227 

Contract  Form  for  Employees  to  Sign 230-231 

Mill  Rules  and  Regulations 231-233 

Sick-Benefit   Society   Plan 237-239 

Earnings  of  Silk  Workers  in  the  Anthracite  Regions 239-240 

Prizes  for  Suggestions 241-242 

Color  Chart,    as  arranged  for  Haberdashery 342 

English  Estimate  of  Depreciation  of  Machinery 378 


The  list  of  the  Tables  in  the  Advertising  Section  will  be  found  on  the  next 
page. 


XII 


LIST  OF  TABLES, 
ETC.,  IN  THE  ADVERTISING  SECTION 


PAGE 

Classification  of  China  Silks 18a 

Classification  of  China  Steam  Filatures  20a,  22a 

Classification  of  Tsatlee  Improved  Reel 24a 

Classification  of  Tsatlee  Filature,  Crossed   26a 

Classification  of  Haineen  Filature,  Crossed   26a 

Classification  of  Haineen  Improved  Reel    26a 

Classification  of  Filature   Tussahs    30a,  32a 

Classification  of  Canton    Filatures    34a,  36a 

Classification  of  Standard  Chops  of  Japan  Filatures   40a 

Classification  of  Standard  Chops  of  Japan  Rereels  42a 

Japanese  Weights  and  Measures  48a 

Chinese  Weights  and  Measures   Sla 

Thrown  Silk  Sizing  Tables,  2  Thread  53a,  56a 

Thrown  Silk  Sizing  Tables,  3  Thread  58a,  62a,  64a,  66a 

Thrown  Silk  Sizing  Tables,  4  Thread 68a,  70a,  74a 

Thrown  Silk  Sizing  Table,  5  Thread     78a 

Lengths  per  pound  of  Various  Dramages  of  Silk  82a 

Proportionate  Values  of  Thrown  Silk  at  Different  Boil-offs  86a,  88a 

Humidity  Regain  Curves  for  Cotton,  Wool  and  Silk 98a 

Humidity  in  Cotton  Yarns,  Regain  Table  lOOa 

Humidity  in  Worsted  Yarns,  Regain  Table  102a 

Table  for  Numbering  Cotton  Yarn  and  Spun  Silk  104a 

Principles  of  the  Various  Yarn  Counts  106a 

Relative  Lengths  of  Aunes  and  Yards 108a 

Customs  Prevailing  in  the  English  Yarn  Trade  112a 

Manchester  Yarn  Contract  Rules    114a 

Leather  Belting  Price  List  118a 

Power  Transmitted  by  Belting   120a 

Good  Belting  Practice   122a 

Rules  for  Size  and  Speed  of  Pulleys  122a 

Horse  Power  of  Steel  Shafting 124a 

List  Prices  and  Weights  of  Steel  Shafting ' .         124a 

Speeds  of  Cuts  for  Machine  Tools  126a 

Speeds  for  Carbon  Steel  Drills   128a 

XIII 


THE  ADVERTISERS 

At  the  latter  part  of  the  book  will  be  found  the  advertisements  of  the  fol- 
lowing representative  houses  which  have  in  this  way  co-operated  in  the  bring- 
ing of  it  out. 

Advertisements  have  only  been  accepted  from  those  concerns  which,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  writer,  could  be  dealt  with  in  entire  confidence. 


LIST  OF  ADVERTISERS 


PAGE 


William  Skinner  &  Sons   Silk  Manufacturers  2a 

Cheney   Bros 3a 

Phoenix  Silk  Mfg.  Co "  " 4a 

Stehli   &   Co "  5a 

R.   &   H.    Simon    "  6a 

Pelgram  &   Meyer    7a 

^Standard  Silk  Co "  

*J.  H.  &  C.  K.  Eagle  (. "  

Schwarzenbach,  Huber  &  Co "  8a 

Henry   Doherty   Silk   Co "  9a 

Bloomsburg  Silk  Mill   "  lOa 

Rogers   &  Thompson,   Inc "  1  la 

Andreae  Silk  Co "  "  12a 

Joseph  Loth  &  Co ".  13a 

Hartley  Silk  Mfg.  Co "  14a 

Julius  Kayser  &  Co Silk  Knit  Goods  Mfrs 15a 

Pacific  Bank  of  New  York  16a 

U.   S.  Conditioning  and  Testing  Co Textile   Testing    17a 

Morimura,   Arai    &   Co Raw   Silk    19a 

Mitsui  &  Co "        "      21a 

Tata  Sons  &  Co "        "     23a 

A.  P.  Villa  &  Bros Raw  &  Thrown  Silk  25a 

Champlain   Silk  Mills    Spun    Silk    27a 

American  Silk   Spinning  Co 28a 

XIV 


LIST  OF  ADVERTISERS,  Continued 

PAGE 

Universal   Textile   Co.,   Inc Yarns    29a 

Joseph  J.  De  Long  31a 

Fred  Sternberg  &  Co 33a 

Read  &  Lovatt  Mfg.  Co «.  Throwsters . . .  35a 

H.  F.  Hof er  &  Co Thrown  Silk 37a 

Universal  Throwing  Co.,  Inc Throwsters    38a 

The  Bliss  Silk  Throwing  Co 39a 

Centurv  Throwing  Co 41a 

F.  Q.  Hartman,  Inc 43a 

A.  G.  Turner  Co 44a 

Victoria  Silk  Co 45a 

William  A.   Gilbert  Co 46a 

Klots   Throwing  Co 47a 

Villa,    Stearns   Co Raw  and  Thrown  Silk  47a 

Emmerich-Dolson  Co Thrown  Silk  49a 

Weidmann  Silk  Dyeing  Co Skein   Dyers    50a 

Standard   Silk  Dyeing  Co 52a 

Kearns  &  Carroll  Silk  Dyeing  Co 54a 

Home  Bleach  &  Dye  Works,  Inc Cotton  Yarn  Dyers    55a 

National    Silk   Dyeing   Co Skein  &  Piece  Dyers  &  Printers  57a 

United  Piece  Dye  Works Piece  Dyers  &  Finishers   59a 

Crew's  Silk  Finishing  &  Piece  Dye 

Works  "  61a 

Sussex  Print  Works   Piece  Dyers,  Printers  &  Finishers  62a 

New  York  Watering  Co Silk  Printers,  Embossers,  etc.  . .  63a 

Oriental  Silk  Printing  Co Silk  Printers  65a 

Silk  Finishing  Co.  of  America   Finishers 67a 

Smith  &  Uhlig,  Inc 69a 

Prescott  &  Waywell    Warping  &  Winding   71a 

Alfred    Suter    Machinery  &  Testing  Appliances  72a 

Security  Silk  Storage  Co Storage 73a 

Mercantile  Warehouse  Co 75a 

Wilmerding,  Morris  &  Mitchell    . , .  Auctioneers  76a 

John  W.   Ferguson  Co Mill  Architects  77a 

The   Emerson   Co Efficiency  Engineers   79a 

James  Chittick  Consulting  Silk  Specialist    80a 

Arthur  H.   Colby    Steam  Coals 81a 

I.  A.  Hall  &  Co ' Reeds  &  Harness 83a 

Allentown   Reed,   Harness  &  Mill  Supply 

Co "  «         83a 

Nicholas    Saner    84a 

George  T.  Frost  &  Son   Bobbins,  bandings,  etc 8Sa 

Borne,  Scrymser  Co Textile  Oils  87a 

Oberly  &  Newell    Sample  Cards   89a 

Metropolitan  Letter  Co Fac  Simile  Letters 90a 

XV 


LIST  OF  ADVERTISERS,  Continued 

PAGE 

"American  Silk  Journal"   Textile  Trade  Journal    91a 

"Dry   Goods"    "          "  "          92a 

"Knit  Goods"   "          "  "          93a 

"Silk" "          "  "          94a 

"Textile  World  Record"    "  "  "          95a 

L.  C.  Smith  &  Bros.  Typewriter  Co Typewriters   96a 

Barnes  Printing  Co Printing  &  Engraving  97a 

Claude  Deflacieux  Jacquard  Card  Cutting   99a 

Farbwerke-Hoechst  Co Colors  &  Chemicals lOla 

A.  Klipstein  &  Co "  "  103a 

Warren  Webster  &  Co Steam  Heating  System   105a 

Brown   Spin- Wright  Co Machinery 107a 

A.  W.  Buhlmann  "        109a 

Charles  H.  Knapp   "        llOa 

Textile-Finishing  Machinery  Co "        Ilia 

John  Royle  &  Sons "        113a 

John  J.  Cavagnaro  "        114a 

Scranton  Silk  Machine  Co "        115a 

Universal  Winding  Co.    117a 

Charles  A.  Schieren  Co Leather  Belting   119a 

Crocker- Wheeler   Co Electrical  Apparatus  121a 

General  Electric  Co "  "         123a 

H.  W.  Butterworth  &  Sons  Co Machinery 125a 

Rice,  Barton  &  Fales  Machine  &  Iron  Co. .  "        127a 

Holbrook  Manufacturing  Co Textile  Soaps   Fly  Leaf  129a 

Benjamin   Eastwood   Co Machinery  Fly  Leaf  130a 

Charles  W.  Young  &  Co Textile  Soaps Inside  Back  Cover 

*Space  taken  but  no  advertisement  inserted. 


XVJ 


I 

SELECTING   A   LOCATION    FOR   A   MILL. 


There  are  times  when  a  manufacturer  is  confronted  with  the  ques- 
tion as  to  where  to  locate  his  mill — either  his  principal  plant,  if  he  be 
going  into  a  new  enterprise,  or  a  branch  factory,  if  he  be  already  estab- 
lished. Or,  it  may  be  that  he  desires  to  equip  himself  with  a  throwing, 
dyeing  or  printing  department,  and  so  has  to  determine  on  a  place 
best  suited  for  such  work. 

Many  important  questions  have  to  be  decided,  and  frequently  by 
persons  who  are  not  conversant  with  them  themselves,  but  who,  by 
virtue  of  their  holding  the  purse-strings,  have  to  make  the  final  deci- 
sions. Foreigners,  too,  who  are  planning  to  go  into  manufacturing  in 
this  country,  are  often  greatly  in  the  dark  as  to  the  conditions  to  be 
reckoned  with,  and,  in  a  measure  have  to  "go  it  blind"  and  take  their 
chances.  The  right  decision  may  spell  "success,"  and  the  wrong  one  is 
pretty  sure  to  spell  "failure,"  and,  in  any  case,  the  locking  up  of  a 
lot  of  capital  in  such  an  inconvertible  form  as  land,  buildings,  power 
plant,  etc.,  is  a  matter  for  serious  consideration. 

When  one  is  looking  for  a  location,  and  is  unrestricted  as  to  choice, 
he  starts  with  the  intention  of  finding  a  place  where  every  condition 
will  be  ideal,  but  speedily  finds  that  no  such  spot  exists,  and  that  the  best 
he  can  do  will  be  to  decide  on  a  place  which  has  the  balance  of  advan- 
tages for  his  uses. 

Points  to  be  Considered. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  point  out  the  principal  features 
that  need  consideration,  and,  with  these  points  clearly  in  mind,  the 
desirability  of  one  location,  as  compared  with  another,  can  be  intelli- 
gently passed  upon;  and,  as  the  considerations  that  will  influence  one 
firm  will  always  be  different  from  those  that  affect  another,  each  con- 
cern will  have  to  act  on  its  own  judgment. 


2  SELECTING   A    LOCATION  FOR   A    MILL 

Questions  of  great  importance  are  those  relating  to  labor,  power, 
water  supply,  State  laws,  distance  from  market,  and  others. 

What  Would  be  Ideal  Conditions? 

An  ideal  location  would  be  one  in  which  labor  was  abundant,  intelli- 
gent, skilled  and  cheap ;  where  there  were  no  labor  unions  or  strikes ; 
where  the  laws  of  the  State  made  no  restrictions  as  to  hours  of  work  or 
age  of  workers ;  where  people  were  accustomed  to  mill  life,  and  where 
there  were  no  other  textile  mills  in  the  vicinity  to  share  in  the  labor  and 
bid  up  its  price.  The  land,  too,  should  be  cheap  and  situated  on  the 
edge  of  a  river,  or  lake,  which  would  afford  ample  and  suitable  water 
for  all  manufacturing  purposes.  The  railway  facilities  should  be  good, 
with  a  siding  into  the  mill  yard.  It  should  be  near  the  market,  making 
freight,  express,  and  traveling  charges  small.  Fuel  should  be  very 
cheap,  or  water  power  or  natural  gas  might  be  available.  The  local 
conditions,  such  as  police  and  fire  protection  and  drainage,  should  be 
good,  and  city  gas,  water,  and  electricity  should  be  available  if  wanted, 
together  with  good  street-car  service,  and  what  not.  It  should  be  in  a 
climate  neither  very  cold  nor  very  hot,  and  should  be  immune  from 
floods. 

The  above,  and  many  other  minor  advantages,  are  what  all  would 
like  to  secure,  but  the  mere  reading  of  the  list  shows,  as  remarked  be- 
fore, that  such  collective  advantages  are  unattainable.  With  a  view  to 
determining  which  considerations  should  govern,  we  will,  therefore,  fol- 
low out  more  in  detail  the  various  points. 

Importance  of  the  Labor  Question. 

First  in  importance  comes  labor,  and  in  hardly  any  industry  is  the 
labor  question  more  dominant  than  in  silk  manufacturing.  For  certain 
lines  of  manufacture,  skilled  help,  already  trained,  is  imperative.  This, 
usually,  can  only  be  obtained  in  proper  quantity  in  the  large  silk  cen- 
tres, and  even  then  the  supply  is  none  too  large  and  the  cost  is  not  low. 
People,  therefore,  who  intend  to  make  high-class  novelties  are  much 
restricted  in  their  choice  of  locations. 

For  all  weaving,  and  for  all  other  dyed-silk  work,  considerable  train- 
ing and  skill  is  required.  Those  who  go  to  districts  away  from  the 
silk  centres  must  expect  to  go  through  a  long  period  of  small  produc- 
tion and  imperfect  product  while  training  their  workpeople,  and,  in 
fact,  to  keep  a  small  textile  school  constantly  in  operation,  for  training 
fresh  hands  to  take  the  places  of  those  who,  from  one  cause  or  another, 
may  leave.  In  the  throwing  branch,  it  does  not  take  so  long  to  bring 
the  help  up  to  the  point  of  efficiency,  and  a  country  location  is  not  so 
disadvantageous. 

In  towns  where  there  is  a  fair-sized  population,  and  no  manufac- 
turing industries  of  moment,  a  good  supply  of  female  help  can  usually 
be  had  at  low  prices ;  but,  should  other  industries  come  to  the  town,  the 
demand  for  help  may  soon  exceed  the  supply,  and  the  employer  find, 


SELECTING   A    LOCATION   FOR   A    MILL  3 

owing  to  the  bidding  up  of  the  labor,  that  its  cost  is  greatly  increased, 
its  supply  insufficient,  and  its  character  arrogant  and  independent,  and, 
with  no  growth  to  the  town  equal  to  -the  increasing  employment  offered, 
he  finds  himself  in  a  very  uncomfortable  position. 

So  long  as  there  is  an  ample  supply  of  help  to  go  round,  the  pres- 
ence of  other  silk  mills  in  the  district  is  not  a  drawback ;  but,  if  some 
of  the  mills  are  in  those  branches  of  the  trade  that  require  more  skill, 
and  pay  higher  wages,  it  exercises  an  adverse  influence  on  those  mills 
doing  the  simpler  work,  and  properly  paying  less  wages,  as  their  help 
cannot  see  why  they  should  be  paid  less  than  the  people  in  the  other 
mills,  and  will  leave  to  go  to  work  at  the  other  mills  whenever  they  get 
a  chance. 

The  proximity  of  other  textile  mills — wool,  cotton,  etc. — may  be  of 
advantage  if  their  scale  of  wages  is  lower  than  in  the  silk  mills  (which 
is  usually  not  the  case),  as  their  help  would  then  go  to  the  silk  mills 
which  paid  the  better  wages.  The  reverse,  however,  may  well  be  the 
case,  and  the  silk  mill  may  find  itself  compelled  to  pay  the  higher  wages 
that  obtain  in  the  other  mills  if  it  wants  to  keep  any  help  at  all. 

In  a  place  where  there  are  many  large  factories,  of  whatever  kind, 
using  principally  female  help,  it  is  generally  disadvantageous  to  locate, 
as  labor  will  then  be  scarce  and  high.  If,  however,  the  local  indus- 
tries are  those  employing  mostly  male  labor,  such  as  collieries,  tan- 
neries, breweries,  locomotive  and  metal- working  shops,  jewelry  making, 
etc.,  there  will  be  considerable  unemployed  female  labor  in  the  families 
of  these  male  workers  which  can  often  be  secured  at  a  fair  price. 

In  some  branches  of  work,  particularly  those  devoted  to  the  produc- 
tion of  novelties  or  goods  affected  by  fashion,  the  orders  come  in  a 
very  irregular  manner.  It  is  often  either  a  feast  or  a  famine;  at  one 
time  running  everything  to  the  limit  (with  perhaps  some  night  work 
thrown  in),  for  two  or  three  months;  then,  a  sudden  dropping  off  in 
the  demand,  which  necessitates  the  laying  off  of  a  considerable  number 
of  workpeople.  It  would  be  quite  impossible  in  a  country  district  either 
to  get  extra  people  at  a  moment's  notice  when  needed,  or  to  expect 
them  to  come  back  to  work  at  the  convenience  of  the  employer,  and 
it  is  only  in  large  silk  centres  that  such  a  course  could  be  pursued. 

Where  the  labor  obtainable  is  largely  foreign-born,  understanding 
English  imperfectly,  if  at  all,  it  is  very  desirable  that  the  foremen 
should  be  able  to  speak  to  them  in  their  own  language  and  understand 
how  to  get  on  with  them. 

Unless  the  workpeople  live  within  easy  walking  distance  of  the 
mill,  it  is  necessary  to  be  close  to  the  street-car  lines,  or  else  the  people 
will  be  constantly  drifting  away  to  take  work  nearer  their  homes. 

In  considering  the  relative  cost  of  the  lower  wages  in  the  country 
towns  with  that  in  the  cities,  the  efficiency  of  the  labor  must  be  con- 
sidered. Thus,  if  the  country  labor  was  20  per  cent,  less  efficient  than 
the  city  labor,  it  would  require,  for  an  equal  output  of  goods,  an  addi- 


4  SELECTING   A    LOCATION   FOR   A    MILL. 

tional  investment  to  that  amount  in  the  machinery  and  plant,  with  the 
additional  help  required  to  run  it  to  be  paid  for,  which  would  be  a 
substantial  offset  to  a  large  nominal  saving  in  the  cost  of  the  labor. 
Good  mill-engineers,  carpenters,  loom-fixers,  mechanics,  beamers,  fore- 
men, etc.,  etc.,  are  very  scarce  in  the  country  and  often  have  to  be 
brought  from  the  cities,  and  can  then  only  be  got  by  paying  them 
substantially  more  money  than  they  could  earn  at  home. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  what  a  variety  of  questions  arise 
in  connection  with  labor,  and  how  necessary  it  is  to  be  accurately 
informed  on  all  phases  of  it  before  deciding  on  a  location. 

State  Labor  Laws. 

We  will  now  touch  on  the  matter  of  labor  legislation — that  is,  the 
State  laws  as  they  are  at  present,  or  are  likely  to  be  in  the  near  future. 
The  Federal  laws  do  not  often  enter  into  the  question,  and  could  not 
be  avoided  anyway. 

Locations  suitable  for  silk  manufacturing  are  to  be  found  in  many 
states,  and  one  would  naturally  turn  to  whatever  state  had  the  most 
liberal  laws. 

It  has  been  customary  for  the  different  states  to  pass  laws  pre- 
scribing the  number  of  hours  per  week  that  factories  shall  operate,  and 
it  has  been  the  custom  for  manufacturers  to  conform  to  such  hours. 
In  the  case  of  the  employment  of  minors,  that  is,  males  under  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  and  females  under  eighteen  years — or  whatever  the 
legal  age  limit  may  be  for  females  in  the  state — it  seems  to  be  well 
settled  that,  by  virtue  of  its  police  powers,  the  state  has  the  right  to 
so  limit  the  hours  of  work.  On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  to  be  equally 
certain  that  if  males  or  females  of  full  legal  age  desire  to  contract 
with  their  employer  to  work  any  length  of  time  that  they  and  he  may 
desire,  the  State  is  impotent  to  prevent  it,  for  to  do  so  would  be  to 
interfere  with  the  right  of  contract  specifically  guaranteed  by  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  UniteoStatesTto  say  nothing  of  the  State  Constitutions 
themselves.  Recent  legislation  in  some  states  has,  indeed,  been  enacted, 
limiting  the  hours  of  women's  work,  but  it  is  very  doubtful  if  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  will  sustain  such  laws  when  they  come 
before  it  on  appeal. 

A  manufacturer  in  any  state  might,  therefore,  run  such  machinery 
as  was  operated  by  help  of  full  age  for  just  as  many  hours  as  he 
chose,  but  this  is  seldom,  if  ever,  done,  as  he  is  restrained  by  the  cus- 
tom of  the  locality,  by  the  opinion  of  his  fellow  manufacturers,  by  the 
fact  that  the  very  considerable  amount  of  machinery  run  by  the  younger 
help  would  be  idle,  and  by  the  unwillingness  of  most  of  the  workpeople 
themselves  to  contract  to  work  longer  hours  even  with  the  proportion- 
ate addition  to  their  pay. 


SELECTING   A    LOCATION   FOR   A    MILL.  5 

Hours  of  Operation. 

The  hours  so  delimited  by  the  State  laws  vary,  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  from  fifty-five  to  sixty  per  week,  these  two  extremes  being 
represented  by  the  two  principal  silk  manufacturing  states — New  Jer- 
sey and  Pennsylvania. 

The  employees  on  day  work  do  not  receive  more,  when  working  a 
sixty-hour  week,  than  if  the  legal  week  was  shorter;  the  workers  on 
piece  work,  working  sixty  hours,  are  probably  content  with  a  lower 
rate  than  if  they  only  had  fifty-five  hours  to  earn  their  living  in ;  and, 
as  the  sixty-hour  mills  operate  9  per  cent,  longer  than  the  fifty-five- 
hour  mills,  the  cost  per  unit  for  general  expenses  should  be  corre- 
spondingly lower. 

These  are  weighty  advantages  and  it  is  largely  owing  to  them  that 
such  a  great  growth  of  the  silk  trade  has  taken  place  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania — that  part  nearest  to  New  York. 

Corporation  Laws. 

Here  and  there,  some  manufacturing  state  enacts  very  exacting 
laws  regarding  corporations,  compelling  them  to  publish  certain  re- 
ports and  to  do  many  other  things  that  they  may  find  troublesome  or 
undesirable,  to  say  nothing  of  not  favoring  them  in  the  matter  of  taxa- 
tion. On  the  principle  that  it  is  easier  to  avoid  trouble  than  to  get 
out  of  it  when  in,  many  people  avoid  locating  plants  in  such  states. 

Age  Limit  for  Children. 

The  age  limit  for  child  labor  is  another  feature  in  which  State  laws 
differ  widely  and  which  is  of  much  moment  to  the  employer.  To 
employ  persons  so  young  that  they  do  not  yet  possess  a  proper  sense 
of  responsibility  is  a  foolish  and  wasteful  plan,  particularly  when  deal- 
ing with  such  an  expensive  commodity  as  silk.  Few  employers,  also, 
would  desire  to  put  young  people  to  work  unless  they  were  physically 
and  mentally  fit  for  it.  A  hard  and  fast  age  limit  has  its  disadvantages, 
as  some  children  are  as  mature  at  thirteen  as  others  are  at  sixteen, 
and  if  the  age  limit  is  set  too  high  it  debars  many  children,  anxious 
and  well  able  to  work,  from  getting  it  and  leaves  the  employer  short 
of  their  labor.  Some  of  the  Southern  States  have  made  the  age  limit 
very  low,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  distinct  tendency  there  of  late  to 
advance  it. 

On  the  statute  books  of  most  states  there  are  many  other  laws 
relating  to  factories,  such  as  those  concerning  sanitary  arrangements, 
fire  escapes,  construction  of  buildings,  etc.,  which  commend  themselves 
to  any  sensible  and  civilized  man,  and  which  therefore  would  not  be 
factors  in  considering  a  location. 

We  will  now  consider  some  of  the  other  points. 


6  SELECTING   A    LOCATION   FOR   A    MILL 

Local  Inducements  Offered. 

A  manufacturer  generally  desires  to  sink  as  little  of  his  capital 
as  possible  in  the  comparatively  unremunerative  form  of  land,  bricks, 
and  mortar,  and  to  put  all  that  he  can  into  productive  machinery. 
With  this  in  mind,  many  people  have  been  led  to  locate  in  small  towns, 
owing  to  attractive  offers  made  to  them.  Such  communities,  desirous 
of  having  mills  established  in  their  midst  that  will  furnish  employment 
to  their  people,  have  frequently  made  very  favorable  propositions.  They 
may  offer  the  land  free  of  cost,  arrange  to  remit  all  taxes  for  a  term 
of  years,  and  may  possibly  get  sufficient  subscriptions  in  the  town  to 
the  stock  of  the  company  to  'defray  the  cost  of  erecting  the  factory, 

To  be  thus  furnished  with  a  f ree-of-cost  factory  is  a  great  advan- 
tage if  the  labor  and  other  conditions  in  the  place  are  all  right.  It 
has  sometimes  occurred,  however,  that  the  local  conditions  have  been 
disadvantageous,  and,  after  a  time,  the  management  has  concluded  that 
it  would  be  better  to  go  elsewhere.  In  such  a  case  it  may  be  found 
that,  having  accepted  the  land,  buildings,  etc.,  they  are  not  free  to 
move  their  machinery  away,  but  are  anchored  to  the  place,  and  that 
they  can  only  escape  by  paying  back  to  the  contributors  the  value  of 
the  land  and  buildings. 

Land  Values. 

In  buying  land  for  a  mill  site,  one  cannot  afford  to  pay  high  prices. 
It  may  be  urged  that,  though  the  price  seems  high,  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  community  will  cause  a  doubling  of  values  in  a  few  years,  with 
a  consequent  large  profit  to  the  mill.  Though  this  may  well  be  the 
case,  yet  a  gain  of  this  kind  is  one  that  cannot  be  realized  on  without 
selling  the  mill  and  putting  it  practically  out  of  business;  for,  while 
you  may  move  your  machinery  to  a  distance,  moving  your  help  is  quite 
another  matter,  and  any  moving  is  difficult  and  expensive.  The  in- 
crease in  the  value  of  the  land,  though  it  looks  well  on  the  balance- 
sheet,  adds  to  the  operating  expenses  in  the  shape  of  a  larger  tax 
assessment. 

Allowing  that  land  at  a  moderate  price  is  available,  it  is  desirable 
that  a  reasonable  amount,  in  addition  to  that  required  for  the  buildings, 
be  provided.  It  is  very  awkward  not  to  have  the  land  for  a  necessary 
extension,  and  if  more  has  been  bought  than  is  ultimately  needed,  what 
is  not  wanted  can  be  re-sold. 

Other  Questions  Affecting  the  Location. 

Good  approaches  to  the  property  are  necessary,  and  the  character 
of  the  roads,  both  as  to  pavement  and  grade,  is  to  be  considered,  par- 
ticularly if  there  is  much  hauling  to  be  done. 

Dryness  and  solidity  of  ground  are  desirable,  so  that  good  founda- 
tions for  the  buildings  and  engines  can  be  secured ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  there  is  much  excavating  to  do,  the  presence  of  rock  is  a 
drawback  on  account  of  the  cost  of  removing  it. 


SELECTING   A    LOCATION   FOR   A    MILL  7 

In  damp  situations  the  working  of  textile  fibres  is  facilitated,  owing 
to  the  moisture  in  the  air,  and,  consequently,  a  situation  near  a  stream 
in  a  valley  would  be  superior  to  one  high  up  on  a  wind-swept  hillside, 
though,  with  the  means  that  we  now  have  for  artificially  moistening 
the  air,  this  has  ceased  to  be  the  factor  that  it  once  was. 

Should  the  land  lie  alongside  the  railway,  it  would  be  well  to 
arrange  to  have  a  switch  from  it  into  the  mill  yard  for  facilitating  the 
handling  of  coal,  machinery,  etc.  Outside  of  the  coal  deliveries,  how- 
ever, this  matter  of  a  railway  switch  is  one  of  very  little  moment  to 
a  silk  mill,  unless  it  be  a  dyeing  establishment. 

In  considering  the  price  of  the  land,  it  is  well  to  inquire  what  future 
assessments  are  likely  to  fall  on  the  property  for  grading,  paving, 
sewering,  and  what  not ;  and,  if  these  improvements  have  already  been 
made,  a  higher  price  can  be  paid  for  the  land  than  if  they  have  still 
to  be  done. 

Building  Costs. 

Then,  there  is  the  question  of  the  character  and  cost  of  buildings 
as  affected  by  the  location. 

In  various  places  there  will  be  quite  a  difference  in  the  cost  of 
bricks,  lumber,  and  other  building  materials,  owing  to  the  distance, 
they  have  to  be  carried  by  freight.  In  the  country  districts,  also,  the 
wages  of  mechanics  are  apt  to  be  materially  less  than  in  the  cities. 
These  features  should  receive  consideration. 

Should  the  mill  be  located  in  a  cold  climate,  and  where  fuel  is  dear, 
it  may  be  profitable  to  provide  the  buildings  with  double  windows, 
which  will  make  the  expense  of  heating  much  less.  Also,  if  land  is 
cheap,  all  the  buildings  may  be  built  of  one  or  two  stories,  while  with 
high-priced  land  it  may  be  necessary  to  use  less  land  and  more  sky, 
and  so  there  they  might  be  put  up  four  or  more  stories  high. 

Distance  from  the  Market. 

A  matter  of  much  importance  is  the  distance  that  a  mill  is  from 
the  primary  selling  market,  where  its  sales  offices  are  located.  If  it  is 
running  largely  on  fancies,  it  is  of  great  moment  that  it  be  so  closely 
in  touch  with  the  market  as  to  enable  it  to  respond  in  the  most  prompt 
manner  to  the  rapidly  changing  requirements  of  the  trade.  New  sam- 
ples coming  forward,  new  fashions,  new  colors,  and  what  not,  have  to 
be  discussed  carefully  with  the  sales  agents ;  and  in  such  cases  a  near-by 
location  is  most  desirable,  so  that  as  little  time  and  money  as  possible 
will  be  used  up  in  coming  together  for  the  many  necessary  confer- 
ences, and  in  the  large  amount  of  telephoning  that  it  entails. 

For  mills  on  plain  goods,  this  closeness  of  touch  is  not  so  neces- 
sary. Throwing  mills,  too,  can  be  advantageously  run  at  points  con- 
siderably distant,  but  dyers  find  it  desirable  to  keep  pretty  close  to  their 
customers. 


8  SELECTING   A    LOCATION   FOR   A    MILL. 

Transportation  Expenses. 

In  considering  the  matter  of  distance,  the  expenses  of  transporta- 
tion are  of  importance.  The  freight  or  expressage  on  silk  from  raw- 
silk  merchant,  throwster,  finisher,  or  dyer,  as  the  case  may  be;  the 
transportation  charges  on  the  finished  goods  and  samples  going  forward 
to  the  market ;  the  expressage  on  the  supplies  constantly  coming  in ; 
and  the  cost  of  the  traveling  backwards  and  forwards  from  the  mill 
to  the  market,  by  the  managers  or  employees,  bulks  up  into  a  very 
large  sum  for  a  factory  located  far  away.  The  probable  expenses  on 
this  score  should  be  figured  out  as  carefully  as  possible,  and  should 
not  be  guessed  at. 

Another  point  is  that  a  mill,  at  a  distance  from  the  supply  markets, 
may  suffer  in  the  matter  of  production  by  the  stoppage  of  machinery 
on  account  of  delay  in  arrival  of  supplies,  and  by  breakdowns,  etc., 
which  may  cause  a  stoppage  of  days  instead  of  hours,  as  would  be 
the  case  were  the  mill  near  to  its  base  of  supplies.  A  smaller  stock 
of  supplies,  too,  can  safely  be  carried  when  the  location  is  near  at 
hand. 

If  none  of  the  owners  is  resident  at  the  mill,  the  further  it  is  away 
the  less  they  are  likely  to  know  about  how  it  is  being  conducted. 

Local  Conditions. 

The  local  conditions  in  a  place  under  consideration  are  always  of 
interest.  What  sort  of  a  fire  department  is  there  ?  How  far  away 
is  the  nearest  hydrant,  and  what  is  the  supply  of  water  and  the  pres- 
sure? This  will  affect  the  fire-insurance  rate,  and  a  good  pressure 
is  required  for  the  automatic  sprinklers.  Is  the  neighborhood  quiet 
and  orderly,  and  is  there  proper  police  protection?  Is  there  a  local 
gas  company,  and  an  electric  light  and  power  company  with  whose 
lines  you  can  connect,  so  as  to  have  gas  and  electricity  at  command 
when  needed?  Is  the  town  drinking  water  pure  and  good,  and  is  the 
locality  healthful?  Is  the  working  population  used  to  mill  life,  mill 
hours,  and  mill  regularity;  or,  if  not,  may  you  not  find  your  place 
half  empty  when  summer-boarder-time  comes  around,  or  when  there 
is  berry  picking,  hop  picking,  or  fruit  preserving  to  do,  or  when  a 
circus  comes  to  town?.  Is  it  a  long  haul  from  the  yards  of  your  coal 
dealer?  Are  the  trolley  connections  good  and  close  at  hand?  Is  the 
railway  station  inconveniently  far  away?  Are  the  taxes  low,  and  do 
the  tax  assessors  pursue  a  policy  of  taxing  mills  lightly,  or  the  reverse  ? 
Is  the  property  ever  subject  to  the  danger  of  inundation  by  floods? 
Are  there  other  factories  close  by  which  burn  soft  coal,  the  smoke 
from  whose  chimneys,  entering  the  windows,  would  cause  damage  to 
light-colored  goods?  Is  there  telephone  service? 

Many  other  questions  may  no  doubt  be  raised,  but  the  foregoing 
will  show  the  importance  attaching  to  local  conditions. 


SELECTING   A    LOCATION   FOR   A    MILL.  9 

Cost  of  Power. 

Of  great  moment  are  the  conditions  that  affect  the  cost  of  pro- 
ducing power.  In  all  mills  the  cost  of  producing  the  power  is  a  large 
expense  to  the  business,  but  in  an  organzine  or  crepe  twist  throwing 
mill  it  is  vital.  So,  also,  in  a  dyeing  plant,  the  great  quantity  of  steam 
used  makes  the  fuel  question  one  of  the  first  importance. 

A  location  in  the  natural-gas  belt  would  be  most  advantageous,  but 
that  is  too  far  off.  Water  powers  are  scarce,  and  many  of  them  are 
too  small  to  be  of  much  use,  and  in  dry  weather  they  are  likely  to  fail. 
The  water  privileges,  too,  are  not  given  away  by  any  means.  Niagara 
Falls  offers  cheap  power,  and  a  large  amount  of  power  at  a  low  rate 
is  said  to  be  available  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y.  In 
the  South,  also,  some  of  the  water-power  companies  make  low  prices. 
All  of  these  places  are  a  long  way  from  New  York,  but  if  low  cost 
of  power  is  a  primary  requirement  their  advantages  are  considerable. 

Sometimes  a  local  electric  company  will  sell  power  to  mills  at  a  rate 
which  they  could  not  improve  on  if  they  produced  their  own  power, 
and  they  are  therefore  enabled  to  save  the  capital  that  would  otherwise 
be  sunk  in  their  power  plants,  and  simply  put  in  motors  to  be  run  by 
the  company's  current.  Many  electric  companies  pursue  the  short- 
sighted policy  of  making  so  high  a  price  as  to  compel  manufacturers, 
starting  in  their  district,  to  put  in  their  own  power  plants,  and  so  the} 
lose  a  large,  steady,  and  profitable  business  that  they  could  easily  have 
secured. 

Most  mills,  however,  are  run  by  steam  power,  and  some  by  gas 
engines,  and  the  question  is,  What  conditions  will  best  serve  for  these 
purposes?  The  steam  boilers  and  engines  are  of  many  and  varied 
types — old  and  new,  wasteful  and  efficient.  Hard  or  soft  coal  may  be 
burned;  the  engines  may  be  simple  or  compound;  high  speed  or  the 
reverse ;  driving  direct  or  through  the  medium  of  dynamos  and  motors ; 
direct-connected  or  belted;  condensing  or  non-condensing.  The  gas 
engines  may  use  natural  gas;  or  illuminating  gas,  bought  from  the 
local  company ;  or  producer  gas,  made  on  the  premises.  The  desirable 
thing  is  to  get  plenty  of  good  coal  cheap,  and  plenty  of  good  water 
at  little  or  no  cost. 

Bituminous  coal,  while  containing  more  heat  units  than  anthracite, 
is  not  desirable  for  use  in  mills  making  colored  silk,  on  account  of  its 
sooty  smoke.  Mills  located  near  the  mouth  of  a  coal  mine  can  usually 
get  very  cheap  coal,  and  the  great  culm  banks  near  the  mines  have, 
in  the  past,  been  regular  gold  mines  for  many  manufacturers,  as,  for 
a  long  time,  almost  any  one  could  get  all  he  wanted  for  about  the^cost 
of  the  cartage,  and  this  culm,  when  burned  under  proper  conditions, 
has  a  most  considerable  fuel  value. 

Hence  it  is  that  the  coal  regions  have  been  so  attractive  to  people 
looking  for  mill  locations,  and,  when  cheap  power  is  required,  these 
parts  have  a  heavy  advantage.  With  engines  running  on  producer 


io  SELECTING   A    LOCATION  FOR   A    MILL 

gas,  the  cost  of  the  fuel  is  relatively  of  much  less  importance  than  with 
steam  engines,  as  the  best  types  of  gas  engines  do  not  use  more  than 
about  half  the  coal  consumed,  for  equal  service,  by  the  best  types  of 
steam  engines. 

Water  Supply. 

As  a  proper  supply  of  good  water  is  essential,  it  is  well  to  locate 
in  a  spot  where  this  water  can  be  had  from  wells  of  not  too  great 
depth,  or  from  natural  sources.  Gas  engines  use  a  fair  amount  of 
water  in  their  cooling  jackets,  and  gas  producers  in  their  scrubbers, 
but  almost  any  sort  of  clean  water  will  serve  for  this. 

For  steam  engines,  however,  the  quality  of  the  water  must  be  right 
for  boiler  purposes,  and  care  should  be  used  to  find  such  a  supply 
as  will  be  suitable.  A  location  on  the  banks  of  a  stream  or  lake  will 
generally  insure  this  for  the  cost  of  the  pumping,  and  water  would 
then  be  available  also  for  the  condensers,  if  it  was  desired  to  run  the 
engines  condensing.  The  water  supplied  by  the  various  towns  is  gen- 
erally good,  but  too  expensive. 

For  the  weighting  and  dyeing  of  silk,  the  amount  of  water  used  per 
pound  is  astonishingly  large,  and  it  must  be  just  right,  too;  and  unless 
the  proper  water,  and  in  large  quantity,  be  found,  there  would  be  no 
use  in  starting  a  dyeing  plant.  Dyeing  plants,  also,  burning  as  they  do 
great  amounts  of  coal,  need  large  volumes  of  soft  water  to  feed  their 
boilers. 

In  the  silk-printing  industry,  water  cuts  a  great  figure,  too,  as 
huge  quantities  are  used  for  the  boiling  off  of  the  raw  goods,  the 
rinsing  and  washing  of  the  fabrics  after  printing,  and  the  washing 
of  the  back  gray  cloths,  as  well  as  for  boiler  and  other  uses. 

Summary. 

To  summarize  the  substance  of  this  article,  it  may  be  said  that 
a  manufacturer,  seeking  a  location  for  his  mills,  should  bear  well  in 
mind,  and  carefully  inquire  about,  the  various  points  here  mentioned 
whenever  he  thinks  he  has  found  a  place  that  will  suit  him ;  and?>  if 
then  he  finds  that  the  balance  of  advantages  is  largely  in  its  favor, 
he  will  probably  make  no  serious  mistake  in  locating  there. 


II 

PURCHASING  RAW  SILKS  FOR  A  MILL 


In  purchasing  raw  silks  for  mill  consumption,  a  wide  variety  of 
questions  confronts  the  manufacturer.  The  proper  qualities  and  sizes 
have  to  be  determined  for  the  various  fabrics  that  are  to  be  made; 
the  question  as  to  when  to  buy,  and  whether  to  contract  ahead  or 
not,  is  a  matter  of  grave  moment;  the  merit  of  the  season's  crop  and 
of  the  individual  chops  or  marks  that  are  offered  must  be  determined 
as  well  as  possible;  the  assurance  that  the  house  from  which  a  pur- 
chase is  made  can  and  will  deliver  exactly  what  is  contracted  for,  and 
deliver  it  on  time,  is  a  factor ;  and  one  of  the  most  important  consid- 
erations is  the  question  of  adopting  a  general  policy  for  the  raw  silk 
purchases  and  then  adhering  to  it. 

Requirements  to  be  Met. 

In  preparing  to  make  any  particular  line  of  goods,  the  manufac- 
turer knows  the  result  he  has  to  attain,  and,  of  course,  desires  to 
produce  a  satisfactory  cloth  at  the  minimum  cost.  To  be  able  to  do 
this  requires  sound  judgment  and  much  experience.  Any  one,  by  using 
the  best  materials  and  labor,  can  produce  a  good  cloth;  but  if  his 
competitor  can  produce  as  good  a  cloth  from  cheaper  materials,  and 
with  less  labor,  the  difference  in  cost  will  put  the  first  man  hopelessly 
out  of  the  race  for  business. 

The  art  consists  in  using  materials  sufficiently  good,  but  no  better, 
than  are  required  for  the  purpose;  in  letting  one's  best  material  show 
up  for  all  it  is  worth;  and  in  using  a  poorer  quality  where  it  is  cov- 
ered up  or  hidden.  Again,  in  many  fancy  fabrics,  much  may  be  done 
by  so  arranging  the  patterns,  colorings,  and  yarns,  that  the  eye  will  be 
caught  and  held  by  the  rich  and  bright  little  effects  scattered  over 
a  comparatively  poor  foundation,  and  the  cloth,  in  consequence,  may 
be  so  attractive  in  appearance  that  a  considerable  sale  may  be  found 


12  PURCHASING    RAW   SILKS   FOR   A    MILL. 

for  a  cheaply  made  article  at  a  satisfactory  price. 

One  thing  is  certain,  and  that  is  that  buyers  will  not  pay  for  invisible 
values,  and,  if  a  line  of  goods  costs  much  more  than  what  its  appear- 
ance would  indicate,  it  will  not  sell. 

Methods  of  Manufacture. 

Now,  bearing  all  this  in  mind,  what  course  should  be  pursued  in 
selecting  the  silk? 

One  person  may  argue  that,  by  using  fine  sizes,  such  as  10/12 
denier  silk  for  organzine,  the  silk  can  be  spread  thinner  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  fabric,  and  a  finer,  closer  appearance  achieved,  while  fewer 
pounds  in  weight  will  be  required. 

This  is  quite  true;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  a  10/12  denier  silk  may 
cost  more  for  the  same  quality  than  a  coarser  size,  and  is  sometimes 
hard  to  get  also ;  the  cost  of  the  throwing  is  greater ;  the  cost  of  the 
weaving  and  other  processes  is  more;  and  the  product  will  be  less. 
These  disadvantages  may  more  than  offset  the  benefits  to  be  derived. 

Another  may  try  the  other  extreme,  and,  by  using  a  coarser  silk, 
which  will  be  strong  and  weave  fast  with  a  minimum  of  breakage, 
and  which  will  cost  less  for  throwing,  weaving,  etc.,  and  for  general 
expenses,  may  obtain  a  fabric  which,  for  a  given  weight  of  material, 
will  show  a  low  unit  of  cost. 

Such  a  cloth,  however,  may  well  be  too  open  and  coarse  to  be 
satisfactory,  and  so  may  not  command  the  expected  price. 

If  a  middle  course  be  pursued,  and  ordinary,  suitable  sizes  be  used, 
the  manufacturer  will  find  himself  in  just  the  same  boat  as  a  lot  of 
his  competitors,  with  no  advantage  on  the  one  side  or  the  other,  and 
all  of  them,  in  consequence,  held  down  to  a  price  showing  little  or 
no  profit. 

Questions  such  as  the  foregoing  must  be  decided  according  to  the 
conditions  that  each  mill  has  to  face,  such  as  the  character  of  its  machin- 
ery, the  supply  and  degree  of  skill  of  the  labor  available,  the  require- 
ments of  the  trade  for  which  the  goods  are  designed,  the  relative  cost, 
at  the  time,  of  the  various  grades  and  sizes  of  silk,  and  so  forth,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  technical  skill  in  the  construction  of  fabrics  pos- 
sessed by  the  designer. 

Buying  Ahead. 

In  buying  raw-silk,  great  advantage  accrues  to  those  who,  having 
first-rate  information  about  the  market,  and  suitable  experience,  have 
the  commercial  courage  to  buy  silk  on  their  own  judgment,  and  to 
buy  heavily  if  conditions  are  favorable. 

When  silk  is  really  cheap,  it  may  safely  be  bought  liberally,  even 
if  the  market  seems  weak  and  likely  to  go  lower,  which  of  course 
it  may ;  but  the  man  who  expects  to  get  in  at  the  bottom  of  the  market 
never  does  so  except  by  the  merest  chance,  and  generally  puts  off 
buying  till  too  late. 


PURCHASING    RAW   SILKS   FOR   A    MILL.  13 

It  requires  nerve  to  buy  6  to  12  months'  supply  of  material  when 
things  seem  to  be  going  to  the  dogs,  and  when  every  one  else  appears 
to  be  staying  out  of  the  market ;  but,  if  the  silk  is  intrinsically  cheap, 
and  it  generally  is  at  such  times,  ene  can  often  get  just  the  chops, 
qualities,  and  deliveries  that  he  wants,  and  on  a  basis  that  a  few  weeks 
later  may  look  very  low. 

This  is  where  the  real  money  is  made  in  silk  buying,  not  in  haggling 
over  2l/2  cents  in  price,  or  a  month  or  two  in  time,  on  some  small  lot 
of  10  or  20  bales,  important  in  a  minor  way  though  such  a  saving 
may  be. 

How  Raw-Silk  is  Graded. 

The  grading  of  silk  is  done  in  a  way  quite  different  from  what 
exists  in  the  grading  of  other  fibres — wool,  cotton,  etc. — where  XX 
Ohio,  or  Middling  Uplands,  stands  for  a  certain  specific  grade  or 
quality. 

In  the  classifying  of  silk,  the  basis  of  classification  is  a  shifting  one. 
It  starts  at  the  top,  with  silks  described  as  Extra  Classical,  Double  Ex- 
tra, No.  i  (in  Chinas),  etc.,  which  are  supposed  to  be  made  from 
the  best  cocoons  of  the  season  reeled  in  the  best  possible  manner. 

From  this  highest  quality  they  grade  downward.  Now,  as  the 
merit  of  the  cocoons,  due  to  weather  conditions  and  other  causes,  will 
vary  considerably  from  season  to  season,  it  follows  that  the  Extra 
Classical  of  a  poor  season  may  be  no  better  than  the  Extra  of  the 
pfeceding  one,  and  thus  the  quality  of  a  silk  carried  over  a  season 
may  be  different  from  the  same  nominal  grade  reeled  the  following 
year. 

A  knowledge  of  the  relative  goodness  of  the  succeeding  crops  of 
silk  of  the  various  countries  is  therefore  most  desirable. 

Reliability  of  the  Qualities. 

The  care  and  skill  used  in  the  filatures  is  in  the  highest  degree 
important,  as  on  this  depends  the  regularity,  size,  and  cleanness  of 
the  raw-silk  produced. 

In  Europe,  the  reeling  is  more  accurately  done  than  in  Asia,  and 
the  sizings  of  the  silk  are  consequently  more  regular  and  better  to 
be  relied  on  as  a  whole ;  though,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  silk,  both 
continents  produce  qualities  of  the  highest  class. 

The  products  of  the  various  filatures  are  sold  under  different  chops, 
marks,  or  names,  each  establishment  usually  producing  a  number  of 
grades  (generally  not  less  than  three),  these  grades  being  quoted, 
sold,  and  accepted  on  the  market  according  to  their  classification  and 
merit. 

If  the  qualities  of  these  chops  were  constant  from  year  to  year, 
there  would  be  little  trouble  in  their  selection;  but,  instead  of  that, 
and  independent  of  the  varying  qualities  of  the  crops,  they  are  most  of 
them  in  a  constant  state  of  flux. 


I4  PURCHASING   RAW  SILKS   FOR   A    MILL 

Better  methods,  machinery,  and  organization  in  some  filatures  may 
gradually  improve  the  value  and  consequent  grading  of  their  output, 
even  when  sold  under  the  same  chop  tickets,  while  the  reverse  of  this, 
with  a  corresponding  deterioration  in  quality,  may  be  taking  place  in 
other  establishments. 

The  silk  buyer  must,  therefore,  be  on  the  alert  in  this  matter  and 
keep  himself  well  informed  as  to  the  character  of  the  output,  from 
season  to  season,  of  those  establishments  whose  product  he  is  inter- 
ested in. 

Status  of  Private  Chops. 

In  addition  to  the  market  chops,  most  of  the  large  silk  dealers 
offer  goods  under  private  chop  tickets  of  their  own,  professing  in  this 
way  to  secure  to  their  customers,  through  the  care  taken  by  them  in 
the  selection  of  the  silk  so  offered,  grades  fully  up  to  the  quality 
represented. 

The  value  of  such  marks  lies  in  the  care,  experience,  and  honesty 
of  the  house  offering  them,  the  private  marks  of  some  houses  being 
always  acceptable,  while  some  of  those  of  other  firms  are  notoriously 
unreliable. 

It  should  be  pointed  out,  also,  that  private  chops  do  not  command 
quite  the  same  price  that  market  chops  of  the  same  nominal  grades 
do,  and,  if  a  manufacturer  wishes  to  resell  any  of  his  silk  he  is  at 
some  disadvantage  if  it  happens  to  be  a  lot  with  a  private  mark. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  buyer  is  desirous  of  securing  silk  of 
some  specific  mark,  and  makes  an  inquiry,  say,  for  "Kubotakan"  from 
each  of  the  raw-silk  dealers  who  are  constantly  soliciting  his  trade, 
the  result  will  be  that  a  half-dozen,  or  more,  cables  will  be  sent  simul- 
taneously to  Yokohama,  asking  for  offers  on  that  particular  chop, 
and  the  natural  effect  will  be  to  cause  its  quotation  to  advance  at 
once,  because  it  would  appear  as  if  there  was  some  great  demand 
for  it. 

Deal  Only  with  the  Best  Houses. 

When  a  contract  for  the  purchase  of  raw-silk  is  entered  into,  the 
manufacturer  is  required  to  live  up  to  it  to  the  letter.  It  is  therefore 
in  the  highest  degree  important  that  he  be  well  assured  of  the  ability, 
and  of  the  intention,  of  the  other  party  to  the  contract  to  carry  out 
his  part  of  the  agreement. 

Thus,  it  is  wise  to  have,  if  possible,  dealings  with  such  houses  only 
as  have  a  high  reputation  for  integrity,  as  well  as  the  necessary  capital, 
standing,  and  volume  of  business  that  may  be  needed  for  transacting 
their  business  properly. 

Some  of  the  very  large  concerns  can  offer  special  advantages  in 
the  way  of  arranging  for  almost  any  deliveries  wanted,  whether  prompt 
or  forward,  owing  to  the  great  quantities  of  silk  they  constantly  have 
in  transit,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  they  generally  have  more 
or  less  spot  silk  for  sale,  from  stock  bought  for  their  own  account. 


PURCHASING   RAW   SILKS   FOR   A    MILL  15 

Should  silk,  when  delivered  and  inspected,  prove  to  be  not  up  to 
specification,  the  seller  is  always  obliged  to  exchange  it;  but,  if  the 
market  is  bare  of  stock  at  the  time,  and  more  cannot  be  procured  for 
a  month  or  two,  while  the  manufacturer  needs  it  then  to  keep  his 
looms  running,  the  latter  too  often  has  to  accept  the  unsatisfactory 
delivery,  work  it  up  at  a  disadvantage,  and  grin  and  bear  it. 

Raw-Silk  Classifications. 

The  classifications  of  raw-silks,  as  traded  in  on  the  New  York 
market,  are  presented  in  the  following  list,  this  classification  having 
been  approved  by  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Silk  Association  of 
America  on  June  10,  1908: 

EUROPEAN    SILKS 

Grand  Extra.  Best  No.  i. 

Extra  Classical.  No.  i. 

Best  Classical.  Realina. 

Classical. 

JAPAN    SILKS 
FILATURES.  REREELS. 

Double  Extra.  Extra. 

Extra.  No.  i. 

Sinshiu  Extra.  No.  i-ij^. 

Best  No.  i  to  Extra.  No.  \y2. 

Best  No.  i.  No.  1^-2. 

Hard  Nature  No.  I.  No.  2. 

No.  i  (of  the  grade  of  Sinshiu  Okaya,  No.  2-2 y2. 

(Chicken)  Summer  reeling  Season  No.  2j^. 

1907-8.  No.  3. 

No.  i-ij^.  KAKEDA. 

No.  iy2.  Best  Extra. 

No.  il/2-2.  Extra. 

No.  2.  No.  i. 

No.  2. 
No.  3. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  Best  No.  I  Japan  silks  of  the  New  York 
market  correspond  only  with  the  No.  i  of  the  Yokohama  market, 
and  other  grades  accordingly. 

Most  of  the  Japan  silk  used  by  American  manufacturers,  for  organ- 
zine,  grades  from  Best  No.  i  to  Extra,  and,  for  tram,  from  No.  ij^ 
to  No.  i,  with  Rereels  from  No.  \y2  to  No.  i. 

For  single  weaving,  for  warps  of  piece  dyed  goods,  best  Extra 
Classical  to  Grand  Extra  Europeans  are  principally  employed,  with 
some  small  proportion  of  highest  grade  Japanese  filatures. 

Policies  That  May  be  Pursued. 
In  the  purchasing  of  regular  supplies  of  raw  material  for  mill  use, 


16  PURCHASING    RAW   SILKS   FOR   A    MILL. 

it  is  well  to  have  a  clearly  defined  policy  to  adhere  to. 

Roughly  speaking,  the  policies  of  mills  seem  to  fall  into  three 
categories. 

First,  the  buying  of  the  very  lowest  grades  that  can  be  made  to 
answer,  looking  to  the  saving  in  the  cost  of  the  silk  to  more  than 
offset  diminished  production  and  inferior  goods. 

Second,  the  buying  of  the  very  highest  grades,  with  the  view 
that  the  increased  production  and  improved  quality  will  more  than 
equalize  the  additional  price  paid  for  the  silk. 

Third,  a  policy  of  opportunism,  in  which  fair  working  qualities 
are  used  for  both  warp  and  filling,  with  occasional  purchases  of  higher 
grades  of  silk  when  relatively  cheap,  and  the  running  in  of  lower 
grades  than  usual  when  it  is  hard  to  figure  a  profit  on  the  qualities 
generally  used. 

Leaving  out  of  consideration  the  various  kinds  and  qualities  of 
goods  that  a  mill  may  make,  and  the  wide  variety  of  materials  that 
must  often  be  provided,  and  confining  ourselves  to  the  question  of 
policy,  we  will  consider  the  first  case. 

Cheap  Silks  and  Low  Production. 

If  a  fabric  such  as  a  cheap,  36-inch,  black  taffeta,  taking,  say,  9 
pounds  of  raw  silk  to  the  100  yards  of  cloth,  were  in  work,  and  a  low 
grade  of  silk  for  both  tram  and  organzine  were  used,  costing,  say, 
30  cents  a  pound  less  than  good  grades,  a  saving  of  27{0  cents  a  yard 
would  result. 

If,  further,  on  a  basis  of  using  pretty  good  silk,  a  sum  of  8  cents 
a  yard  was  paid  for  weaving,  and  a  further  sum  of  8  cents  a  yard 
had  to  be  earned  for  expenses,  and  if  the  product  were  cut  down  10 
per  cent,  in  consequence  of  the  poorer  silk  used,  the  mill  might  have 
to  pay  8/w  of  a  cent  a  yard  more  to  the  weaver,  and  earn  8^0  of  a 
cent  more  for  expenses  to  equalize  matters. 

Even  then,  however,  the  cost  would  be  over  i  cent  a  yard  less/ 
The  goods  might  not  be  quite  so  good,  but,  being  in  a  low  grade, 
they  might  sell  for  the  usual  price. 

There  are  many  manufacturers,  too,  who  furnish  poor  silk,  but 
pay  their  help  only  the  prevailing  prices  in  the  district  for  weaving 
ordinary  silks  of  the  same  widths,  ends,  and  picks,  and  whose  loss 
from  the  poor  silk  used  is  only  in  the  expense  account,  waste,  and 
imperfection  of  the  goods,  the  weavers  standing  the  loss  of  their  own 
diminished  earnings. 

Good  Silks  and  High  Production. 

In  the  second  case,  the  reverse  of  the  above  will  obtain.  The 
machinery  can  be  speeded  faster,  and,  even  with  the  increased  speed, 
the  percentage  of  broken  ends  will  be  less  on  account  of  the  strength 
and  elasticity  of  the  high-class  silk  used,  and,  in  consequence,  an 
extremely  large  proportion  of  the  theoretical  product  can  be  got  out. 


PURCHASING    RAW   SILKS   FOR   A    MILL.  17 

and  the  goods  will  be  of  a  higher  excellence  and  very  perfect  and 
regular. 

By  having  nothing  in  work  but  the  best  silks,  the  help  can  rely 
on  a  large  product,  and  are  therefore  content  to  take  a  lower  rate  of 
pay  per  yard  than  would  otherwise  be  the  case,  as,  even  then,  their 
earnings  per  week  would  be  better. 

This  diminished  weaving  cost,  and  consequent  lower  expense  cost, 
should  more  than  offset  the  higher  cost  of  the  silk,  besides  which 
there  is  the  superior  quality  of  the  product. 

Few  mills,  however,  follow  either  of  the  above  policies,  or,  if 
they  do,  do  not  follow  them  consistently,  which  makes  them  of  much 
less  value. 

The  Policy  of  Opportunism. 

Most  mills  purchase  their  supplies  in  the  third  way  referred  to,, 
using  fair  qualities  for  both  warp  and  filling — say  an  average  of 
Classical,  or  Extra,  for  warp  purposes,  and  an  average  of  No.  I 
for  filling. 

They  are  apt,  however,  to  buy  rather  too  wide  a  variety  of  kinds 
and  qualities — being  influenced  by  the  attractiveness  of  the  prices 
of  particular  parcels — and  so  their  product  is  likely  to  be  irregular 
in  character. 

The  variation  in  size  of  the  various  lots,  that  is  to  be  expected 
in  such  a  case,  makes  it  hard  for  the  manufacturer  to  arrange  his 
materials  properly. 

The  organzine  for  a  fabric  may  be  on  the  heavy  side,  and  it  may 
happen  that  the  tram  intended  for  use  with  it  may  be  on  the  heavy 
side  also,  and  even  the  taking  out  of  as  many  picks  as  can  be  ab- 
stracted without  injuring  the  appearance  may  still  leave  more  silk  in 
the  cloth  than  calculated,  with  a  loss  in  consequence. 

Similarly,  should  the  lots  run  fine,  picks  have  to  be  increased, 
with  a  corresponding  loss  of  product,  and  perhaps  more  pay  for  weav- 
ing. It  happens,  therefore,  that  when  random  purchasing  is  done, 
one  may  have  quite  a  large  stock  on  hand  and  yet  be  bothered  to  find 
anything  available  for  the  orders  as  they  come  in.  This  leads  to 
the  necessity  of  sometimes  using  a  best  Extra  Classical,  that  may 
happen  to  be  in  stock,  in  a  fabric  where  a  fair  Extra  would  do  the 
work,  because  it  may  be  the  only  silk  available  in  the  proper  size. 

As  it  is  not  customary  to  speed  up  looms  when  weaving  an  occa- 
sional warp  of  extra  good  silk,  the  manufacturer  gets  no  lower  weav- 
ing rate  in  such  a  case,  little  or  no  more  product,  and  no  better  price 
for  his  goods,  and  yet  is  using  organzine  costing  much  more  than  his 
calculation. 

It  is  true  that,  if  a  skilled  manufacturer,  who  is  one  of  the  part- 
ners or  materially  interested  in  the  profits,  lays  out  the  work  in  his 
jnill  himself,  good  results  can  still  be  obtained,  particularly  if  the 
mill  makes  a  wide  range  of  fabrics,  so  that  a  silk  not  fitting  in  one 


i8  PURCHASING    RAW  SILKS   FOR   A    MILL 

place  can  bp  used  to  advantage  elsewhere. 

In  such  a  case  the  manager's  pocket  will  be  vitally  affected  by 
any  waste  of  money,  and  he  will  turn  and  twist  his  stock,  and  plan 
ahead  with  great  care,  so  as  to  be  at  as  little  disadvantage  as  possible. 

In  many,  or  perhaps  most,  cases,  however,  the  man  who  attends 
to  the  disposition  of  the  silk  for  the  orders  is  not  pecuniarily  affected 
by  such  misuse  of  material,  and,  in  consequence,  stocks  of  high-class 
silk,  provided  for  special  purposes,  will  be  used  in  inferior  fabrics, 
and  will  melt  away  in  an  astonishing  manner. 

Disadvantages  of  Certain  Silks. 

Some  silks  have  inherent  disadvantages  about  them  which  must 
be  remembered  when  considering  the  price.  Thus,  Tsatlees,  owing 
to  their  great  irregularity  in  size,  and  to  the  way  in  which  they  are 
generally  reeled,  not  only  cost  more  for  throwing,  and  in  waste,  but 
may  require  the  use  of  more  weight  of  material  to  give  the  proper 
cover. 

For  instance,  if  a  fabric  were  in  work  with  a  small  spot  in  the 
pattern,  made  by  the  filling,  it  might  require  say  8  picks  of  a  regular 
sized  silk  to  give  proper  cover  to  the  spot. 

With  such  an  irregular  silk  as  Tsatlee,  it  would  happen  that  the 
thin  threads  would  not  cover  the  spots  properly,  and  so  a  larger  num- 
ber of  picks,  perhaps  9  or  10,  would,  in  the  same  space,  be  necessary 
in  place  of  8,  to  give  the  proper  appearance  to  all  the  spots. 

The  amount  of  the  boil-off  of  the  silk,  too,  has  to  be  well  con- 
sidered, particularly  in  fabrics  for  piece  dye,  as  it  makes  quite  a  dif- 
ference whether  the  silk  boils  off  24  per  cent.,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
yellow  Italian,  or  18  per  cent.,  as  in  the  case  of  a  Japanese  silk. 

The  dyer,  in  his  charge  for  weighting,  makes  no  distinction  be- 
tween such  silks  in  his  prices,  though  he  should  properly  do  so,  as  to 
bring  up  the  weight  of  a  silk  with  a  large  boil-off  will  require  an 
additional  pass  or  two  through  the  weighting  bath  beyond  what  would 
be  needed  for  a  silk  with  a  small  boil-off. 

Similarly,  the  throwster,  in  his  charges,  is  equally  illogical,  as 
he  will  throw  for  organzine  a  Best  No.  I  at  the  same  price  as  an 
Extra  Classical,  or,  for  tram,  a  I J^  Filature  at  the  same  figure  as  a 
Best  Re-reel,  though  the  cost  to  him  may  be  5  to  10  cents  a  pound 
more  in  either  case. 

Adherence  to  Policy. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  one  will  not  go  far  wrong, 
after  a  certain  policy  has  been  adopted,  in  sticking  to  it  closely,  and 
in  buying  nothing  except  the  exact  qualities  and  sizes  demanded  by 
the  goods  to  be  made,  and  in  leaving  alone  everything  else,  even  when 
the  price  may  be  very  enticing. 

It  may  be  of  interest,  also,  to  note  that  most  of  the  very  suc- 
cessful manufacturers  use  largely  the  highest  qualities  of  silk. 


Ill 

THE   CHARACTERISTICS  OF  JAPANESE  RAW  SILKS. 


From  time  to  time,  inquiries  have  been  set  on  foot  in  this  market, 
by  influential  persons  in  Japan  who  were  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  silk  industry  of  that  country,  with  the  object  of  ascertaining  the 
nature  of  any  objections  to  Japanese  silk  that  might  exist,  so  that, 
if  anything  was  wrong,  either  with  the  silk  itself  or  in  the  methods  of 
trading  in  it,  steps  might  be  taken  in  the  direction  of  improvement. 

It  is  well  that  the  Japanese  interests  recognize  that  there  is  always 
room  for  improvement,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that,  in  time,  their  aver- 
age product  may  be  brought  to  a  point  where  it  will  compare  favor- 
ably with  European  reelings  for  regularity  and  reliability. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  it  may,  therefore,  be  of  interest 
to  discuss  the  general  character  of  Japanese  silks,  and  to  make  note 
of  some  of  those  features  that  make  them  desirable  for  the  use  of 
American  manufacturers,  and  to  point  others  wherein  they  are  prop- 
erly subject  to  adverse  criticism. 

Good  Features  of  Japanese  Silks. 

Among  the  features  which  make  these  silks  popular  may  be  men- 
tioned their  small  amount  of  boil-off,  their  generally  good  white  or 
creamy  color,  their  freedom  from  hard  gums,  their  generally  well- 
made  skeins,  being  cross  reeled  and  of  convenient  size  and  weight, 
the  small  size  of  the  bales  and  the  compact  books  in  which  they  are 
packed,  the  moderate  prices,  the  relatively  long  time  on  which  the  silk 
is  sold,  and  the  large  quantities  that  are  nearly  always  to  be  had  for 
prompt  delivery  in  the  different  grades. 

So  far  as  brilliancy,  strength,  and  elasticity  are  concerned,  the  silks 
will  vary  among  themselves  as  all  silks  do,  but  the  average  is  very  fain 


20     CHARACTERISTICS    OF   JAPANESE   RAW   SILKS. 

Where  Japanese  Silks  are  Deficient. 

Points  of  criticism  may  be  found  in  the  irregularity  in  size  of  the 
silk ;  in  the  unreliability  of  chop  tickets  and  gradings ;  in  the  fact  that, 
when  silk  is  scarce  and  the  market  is  rising,  much  silk  is  delivered 
that  is  inferior  to  what  has  been  contracted  for;  in  the  usual  custom 
of  selling  silk  on  invoice  weight  rather  than  on  conditioned  weight,  thus 
making  the  real  cost  of  it  always  something  of  a  question ;  in  the  dis- 
inclination on  the  part  of  reelers  to  contract  with  buyers  for  all  or 
part  of  their  output  for  the  season  at  a  fixed  price ;  and  in  the  fact  that 
the  nature  of  the  inspection  which  the  shippers  from  Japan  are  per- 
mitted to  make  of  the  silk  that  they  purchase  is  often  of  such  an  in- 
conclusive character,  that  the  question  of  what  any  lot  of  silk  will  be 
like  when  it  gets  into  work  is  always  problematical. 

Percentage  of  Boil-Off. 

Coming  now  to  the  details,  we  will  first  take  up  the  matter  of  the 
boil-off. 

The  reports  of  the  Lyons  Conditioning  House  for  the  years  1893 
to  1908,  inclusive,  show  that  the  average  losses  of  Japan  raw-silk  in 
the  boiling-off  tests  that  were  made  there,  for  each  of  the  years  in  ques- 
tion, were  as  follows: — 17.41,  1740,  17.26,  17.25,  18.06,  18.15,  18.05, 
18.03,  1776,  18.00,  18.09,  18.18,  17.77,  17.98,  17.93,  and  17.90.  The 
average  of  them  is  17.83  so  it  is  fair  to  state  that,  in  round  numbers, 
the  average  loss  of  Japan  silks  is  not  over  18  per  cent. 

The  report  of  the  same  conditioning  house  of  average  boil-off  losses 
for  other  silks,  of  large  general  use,  during  the  year  1908,  shows  the 
following  percentage  of  loss:  Yellow  silks:  French,  24.18;  Italian, 
23.40;  Piedmont,  22.92;  Spanish,  24.34;  Syrian,  24.35;  Bengal,  22.09; 
White  silks:  French,  21.54;  Piedmont,  20.68;  Italian,  21.40;  Brusa, 
21.92;  China,  17.98;  Canton,  22.17;  and  Japan,  17.90  per  cent. 

It  may  be  noted  here  that  the  average  boil-off  of  white  China  silks, 
as  shewn  by  the  reports  of  twelve  years,  is  18.45  Per  cent- 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  boil-off  of  Japan  silks  is  lower  than 
that  of  any  of  the  other  important  silks,  and  this  is  an  advantage  of 
no  inconsiderable  moment.  When  the  silk  is  used  in  piece  dyes,  the 
fabric,  after  dyeing,  will  be  6  to  8  per  cent,  heavier  than  the  same 
cloth  made  of  an  equal  quantity  of  yellow  silk.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  dyed  in  the  yarn,  and  is  weighted  up  to  the  desired  weight- 
ing, the  proportion  of  silk  fibre  in  the  thread  will  be  greater,  and  the 
proportion  of  adulterant  will  be  less,  than  would  be  the  case  with  a  silk 
of  greater  boil-off. 

Of  course,  the  percentage  of  loss  varies  widely  in  different  lots. 
Whether  the  amount  of  gum  averages  less  in  silks  of  soft  nature  than 
in  those  of  hard  nature  is  difficult  to  say,  but  it  is  possible  that  it 
does.  At  any  rate,  those  soft  silks,  like  Sinshius,  are  frequently  much 
injured  by  a  too  severe  boiling-off  as  a  preliminary  to  the  dyeing.  The 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF   JAPANESE   RAW   SILKS.     21 

result  is  that  the  individual  filaments  of  the  silk  are  opened  up,  and  the 
dyed  silk  is  soft,  spongy,  and  hairy. 

The  injurious  effect  of  too  severe  a  treatment  in  the  degumming 
is  seen  in  the  well-known  specky  or  "lousy"  appearance  shown  by  some 
dyed  silks,  which  is  due  to  the  splitting  up  into  fibrillae,  in  places, 
of  the  individual  cocoon  filaments. 

It  would  seem  to  be  the  part  of  prudence  for  manufacturers  to 
notify  the  dyers  about  all  lots  of  soft  nature  silk  sent  them  to  dye, 
so  that  they  could  govern  themselves  accordingly. 

A  disadvantage  connected  with  the  low  boil-off  is  obvious  in  the 
case  of  silk  intended  for  single  weaving.  For  this  work,  great  co- 
herence of  the  cocoon  filaments  composing  the  thread  is  a  necessity, 
and,  owing  to  their  greater  amount  of  gum,  the  yellow  silks  commonly 
used  for  the  purpose  excel  in  this  respect. 

Silks  Reeled  for  Single  Weaving. 

In  spite  of  the  careful  efforts  that  have  been  made  by  many  Japa- 
nese reelers  to  produce  silk  suitable  for  single  weaving,  most  of  them 
have  still  far  to  go.  A  thread  may  be  very  regular  and  perfect,  and 
if  one  defect  occurred  in  1,000  yards  it  would  seem  almost  negligible 
and  a  thing  that  no  one  could  complain  of.  If,  however,  such  a  silk 
were  used  in  a  36-inch  satin  warp,  containing,  say,  11,000  ends,  it 
would  mean,  practically,  that  in  weaving  one  yard  of  cloth,  which 
might  ordinarily  take  half  an  hour,  the  loom  would  have  to  stop  for 
broken  warp  threads  eleven  times,  an  amount  of  stoppage  that  would 
more  than  cut  the  production  in  half  and  render  such  a  silk  commer- 
cially useless  for  the  purpose. 

To  attain  the  great  perfection  demanded  in  these  silks,  nothing 
will  take  the  place  of  the  careful,  constant,  and  vigilant  inside  superin- 
tendence, and  the  watchfulness  over  the  smallest  details  of  the  work 
that  is  typical  of  the  high-class  European  filatures,  and  which  is,  if 
we  may  trust  the  statements  of  intelligent  and  apparently  disinterested 
observers,  conspicuous  by  its  absence  in  most  of  the  Japanese  reeling 
establishments. 

The  annual  consumption  of  raw  silk  for  single  weaving  is  steadily 
increasing,  and  when  Japan  can  send  us  a  steady  supply  of  thoroughly 
reliable  silks  for  this  purpose,  in  the  standard  sizes  of  12-14,  13-15* 
and  14-16  denier s,  and  silks  that  are  equally  reliable  each  year  and 
every  year,  they  will  be  eagerly  welcomed. 

Color,  Strength,  Elasticity  and  Brilliancy. 

The  color  of  Japan  silk,  in  the  medium  and  better  grades,  is  all 
that  can  be  desired.  While  not  so  white  as  the  China  silks,  it  is  white 
enough  for  practically  all  purposes.  In  the  lower  grades,  there  is 
more  or  less  streakiness  and  discoloration  to  be  looked  for,  which  is 
apt  to  cause  shadiness  in  the  dyed  silk.  This  is  a  fault  that  should 
be  guarded  against,  and  corrected  by  the  reelers  so  far  as  possible. 


22     CHARACTERISTICS    OF  JAPANESE   RAW  SILKS 

The  strength  and  elasticity  vary  widely,  the  writer  having  observed 
different  cases  where  silks  graded  as  low  as  No.  iy2  filature,  New  York 
Classification,  were  very  superior  in  this  respect,  but  it  is  too  often 
the  other  way,  and  a  large  amount  even  of  so-called  Extras  are  any- 
thing but  satisfactory  in  this  regard. 

Reports  regarding  these  qualities  must,  however,  be  considered  with 
discrimination,  as  a  silk  when  fresh  and  when  worked  under  fairly 
moist  atmospheric  conditions,  may  be  all  that  could  be  desired,  while 
the  same  silk,  if  stored  long  in  a  dry  place,  and  then  worked  in  a  very 
dry  atmosphere,  might  be  found  to  have  lost  all  its  vitality  and  to  be 
brittle  in  the  extreme. 

Japanese  silk  does  not  possess,  as  a  rule,  the  brilliancy  of  the 
Chinese,  or  high  class  European  silks,  nor  does  it  have  the  same  nerve, 
and  its  relative  deficiency  in  these  respects  puts  it  at  a  disadvantage  for 
some  classes  of  work. 

Character  of  the  Packing. 

The  manner  in  which  the  silk  is  put  up  is  convenient  and  satis- 
factory. Standard  sized  skeins,  neither  too  large  nor  too  small,  with 
a  good  crossing,  and  the  ends  properly  tied  in,  are  wanted  by  the 
throwsters,  and  there  is  usually  not  much  to  be  complained  of  along 
this  line.  Packing  the  silk  in  books  is  also  a  convenience,  and  the 
moderate  size  of  the  bales — about  133  pounds  net — is  quite  a  help  to 
many  small  people  who  can  only  handle  a  bale  at  a  time,  whereas,  in 
buying  a  European  bale,  they  would  have  to  take  220  pounds. 

Terms  and  Conditions  of  Sale. 

European  silks,  usually,  are  sold  on  60  days'  credit,  though  3 
months'  or  4  months'  terms  (at,  of  course,  a  difference  in  price  equal 
to  the  interest),  are  very  common.  Asiatic  silks,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  sold  on  6  months'  terms,  and  the  additional  time  so  given  is  a  great 
help  to  many  houses  in  the  financing  of  their  business,  and  makes  them 
favor  Asiatic  silks,  other  things  being  equal. 

The  custom  of  selling  Asiatic  silks  on  invoice  weight,  or  conditioned 
weight  plus  2  per  cent.,  is  a  practice  that  might  well  be  changed.  All 
silk  should  be  sold  on  conditioned  weight  and  in  no  other  way.  The 
prices  adjust  themselves  to  the  weight  given. 

The  position  that  was  generally  assumed  by  raw-silk  dealers  that 
buvers  must  either  accept  invoice  weight,  or  else  conditioned  weight 
plus  2  per  cent.,  for  Asiatic  silk  transactions,  is  an  illogical  one,  and 
one  which  tends  to  militate  against  the  general  use  of  a  conditioned 
weight  basis. 

All  manufacturers  of  experience  know  that  the  average  run  of 
Japan  silks  will  not  show  a  loss  of  as  much  as  2  per  cent.,  and,  there- 
fore, if  they  buy  on  conditioned  weight  basis  plus  2  per  cent.,  they  are 
out  of  pocket.  Thus,  many  of  them  will  accept  invoice  weights  as  the 
least  of  two  evils,  and  will  omit  conditioning  their  silks,  as  they  will 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF   JAPANESE    RAW   SILKS      23 

not  only  have  no  recourse  against  the  seller  for  short  weight,  but  will 
have  to  pay  for  the  testing  charges  as  well,  and  unverified  weights  of 
silk  deliveries  open  the  door  for  many  evils.  Similar  remarks  apply 
to  China  steam  filatures. 

With  reference  to  the  loss  in  conditioning  of  Japanese  raw-silks, 
the  writer  has  before  him  the  report  of  300  bales  tested,  representing 
lots  aggregating  900  bales,  where  the  average  loss  figures  1.61  per  cent., 
the  better  qualities  averaging,  as  a  general  rule,  appreciably  less  loss 
than  the  lower  qualities.  Hence,  as  compared  with  invoice  weights, 
a  basis  of  conditioned  weight  plus  2  per  cent,  would  bear  more  heavily 
on  the  users  of  the  better  silks  than  on  the  users  of  the  poorer  grades. 

(NOTE.  At  the  time  when  the  Raw-Silk  Division  of  the  Silk  As- 
sociation of  America  adopted  rules  to  govern  transactions  in  raw-silks — 
May  22,  1908 — provision  was  only  made  for  the  selling  of  such  Asiatic 
silks  on  the  basis  of  conditioned  weight  plus  2  per  cent.,  or  "actual" 
weight,  or  invoice  weight,  although  the  writer,  and  no  doubt  others, 
strongly  protested,  in  writing,  against  the  manner  in  which  these  terms 
militated  against  the  manufacturers. 

However,  it  is  gratifying  to  find  that  the  raw-silk  merchants  have 
come  at  last  to  recognize  the  justice  of  these  criticisms,  and,  on  August 
9,  1911,  they  amended  their  rules  so  as  to  provide  for  the  selling  of 
Asiatic  silks  on  conditioned  weight  also.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that,  in 
time,  sales  on  conditioned  weight  alone  will  be  the  invariable  custom.) 

With  the  excellent  testing-house  facilities  in  Yokohama  and  in  New 
York,  there  appears  to  be  no  reason  why  the  whole  business  could  not 
be  put  on  a  conditioned  weight  basis,  and  the  added  2  per  cent,  elim- 
inated from  calculations,  where  it  is  a  disturbing  factor.  Concerted 
action  of  all  the  raw-silk  houses  looking  to  this  end  would  be  very 
welcome,  and  general  terms  of  net  3  months,  for  both  European  and 
Asiatic  silks,  would  be  a  reasonable  limit. 

The  size  of  the  Japanese  crop,  the  immense  importation  into  Amer- 
ica, and  the  great  quantity  of  silk  handled  by  the  large  importers,  ma- 
terially assist  the  operations  of  those  buying  this  staple.  It  is  gen- 
erally easy  to  find  on  the  market  any  standard  quality  or  size  that  may 
be  desired,  or  at  any  rate  very  prompt  deliveries  can  be  had,  and  the 
importers  often  accommodate  their  customers  by  exchanging  contracts 
of  one  grade  for  another,  at  the  market  difference  in  price,  accord- 
ing to  the  exigencies  of  the  trade.  The  importers  also  carry,  at  ordi- 
nary interest  charges,  silk  for  their  clients  until  it  suits  their  con- 
venience to  call  for  it.  This  arrangement  is  of  the  greatest  help  in 
facilitating  large  transactions  for  future  delivery. 

Speculative  Attitude  of  Japanese  Reelers. 

A  peculiarity  observed  in  dealing  with  Japanese  silk  producers, 
is  the  general  disinclination  or  refusal  of  the  reelers  to  contract  the 
output  of  their  establishments  far  ahead.  A  European  reeler  welcomes 


24     CHARACTERISTICS    OF   JAPANESE    RAW   SILKS. 


a  contract  at  the  beginning  of  a  season  that  will  keep  him  fully  em- 
ployed throughout  the  season,  and  at  a  reasonable  profit.  The  specula- 
tive spirit  of  the  Asiatic,  however,  prevents  him  from  doing  this,  and 
he  seems  to  prefer  taking  his  chance  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  market, 
rather  than  to  work  at  a  small,  but  assured,  profit. 

This  is  a  distinct  drawback,  as  it  militates  against  the  stability  of 
prices,  and  makes  of  each  reeler  a  potential  speculator,  and  the  result  is 
seen  in  those  erratic  advances  in  prices,  with  their  subsequent  reactions, 
which  upset  so  seriously  the  orderly  and  regular  sale  and  distribution  of 
merchandise,  and  which  cause  very  heavy  and  needless  losses  to  the 
manufacturers.  * 

How  Price  Fluctuations  Hurt  Manufacturers. 

When  the  raw-silk  market  advances  heavily,  those  who  have  a  good 
stock  of  silk  rarely  get  much  benefit  from  their  foresight,  because  there 
are  always  some  people,  also  long  of  silk,  who,  owing  to  pressure  from 
their  customers  and  from  their  own  salesmen,  do  not  advance  their 
prices  for  goods  until  their  cheap  silk  is  exhausted,  and  their  competi- 
tors, in  great  part,  have  to  follow  suit. 

At  the  same  time,  those  who  are  short  of  silk,  and  who  have  to  buy 
on  the  rising  market,  are  in  the  unpleasant  position  of  having  to  pay 
more  for  their  raw  material  while  getting  no  more  for  their  goods,  and 
thus  have  no  alternative  but  stopping  their  looms,  or  running,  either 
without  profit  or  at  a  loss. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  the  market  is  falling,  and  prices  are  break- 
ing rapidly,  firms  who  are  bare  of  silk  go  out  and  book  orders  at  prices 
lower  than  the  market  then  warrants,  expecting,  and  generally  with 
good  reason,  to  be  able  to  cover  themselves  a  little  later  with  silk  at 
remunerative  figures.  This  action  as  to  price,  gives  those  who  are  long 
of  high-priced  silk  no  chance  to  turn  it  into  money  without  loss,  and, 
even  when  they  have  booked  business  on  the  high-price  basis,  the  bulk 
of  the  contracts  are  promptly  cancelled  by  their  customers  in  favor  of 
the  cheaper  goods  being  offered  by  their  neighbors. 

A  large  number  of  the  manufacturers  thus  suffer  whenever  these 
sharp  fluctuations  in  prices  occur,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  sales  of 
goods  are  often  much  restricted,  as  the  buyers  are  unsettled  in  their 
minds  regarding  values,  and  the  consequent  effect  on  the  trade,  as  a 
whole,  is  disastrous. 

It  would  be  a  distinct  advantage  to  the  market  if  a  great  thrown- 
silk  business  should  be  built  up  here.  Not  only  would  it  be  a  con- 
venience and  advantage  in  many  ways  to  the  users  of  silk,  large  as  well 
as  small,  but  the  constant  presence  on  the  market  of  a  large  stock  of 
thrown-silk,  would  assist  materially  in  helping  to  check  some  of  the 
acute  variations  in  prices,  caused  by  speculative  manipulation  and  not 
by  the  legitimate  operations  of  the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF   JAPANESE    RAW   SILKS.     25 

Irregularity  of  Japanese  Silks. 

Japanese  silks  are  distinctly  irregular  in  size  as  compared  with  the 
standards  set  in  Europe.  The  quality  known  as  strict  No.  I,  13-15 
deniers,  New  York  Classification,  may  have  a  variation  in  size  of  as 
much  as  6  to  10  deniers  between  the  finest  and  the  coarsest  reelings. 
Some  sellers  are  brave  enough,  in  selling  such  silk,  to  promise  that 
there  will  not  be  a  variation  of  more  than  5  or  6  deniers,  but  such  state- 
ments are  quite  unwarranted,  and  if  the  size  does  come  within  these 
limits  it  is  simply  a  matter  of  chance,  as  it  is  quite  as  likely  to  vary  8 
deniers  as  6. 

The  better  grades,  of  course,  will  show  less  variation,  and  the  lower 
ones  more.  In  America,  there  is  not  much  attention  paid  by  buyers  of 
goods  to  the  evenness  or  regularity  of  size  of  the  silk  in  them  as  is  the 
case  abroad.  Price  is  the  dominating  consideration  with  the  buyer,  as 
production  is  with  the  manufacturer,  and  if  the  weaver  should  buy 
more  expensive  silk  for  the  sake  of  getting  greater  perfection  of  fabric, 
he  would  not,  in  most  instances,  be  able  to  secure  any  higher  prices 
for  his  goods. 

So  long  as  the  size  has  not  been  too  grossly  irregular,  and  so  long 
as  it  would  be  otherwise  strong  and  weave  well,  the  American  manu- 
facturer has  shown  marked  indifference  on  this  point,  and  this  indiffer- 
ence has,  no  doubt,  been  reflected  in  the  lack  of  improvement  in  Asiatic 
silks  in  this  respect. 

These  variations  in  size  frequently  affect  the  cost  of  goods  not  a 
little,  as  it  makes  quite  a  difference  whether  a  silk  averages  13.90 
deniers  or  14.40  deniers  if  no  modification  of  picks  or  ends  is  made. 

Unsatisfactory  Classifications. 

Yokohama  classifications  do  not  correspond  with  those  of  New 
York,  the  No.  i  of  Japan  being  called  here  Best  No.  i.,  and  in  fact 
the  greatest  haziness  and  looseness  seem  to  exist  in  this  classification 
matter. 

This  is  one  of  the  very  worst  features  of  the  situation.  For  years 
there  has  been  a  gradual  lowering  of  the  standard  of  all  grades — if  the 
best  authorities  are  to  be  believed — and  the  merit,  or  demerit,  of  most 
of  the  chops  will  vary  widely  from  season  to  season.  The  same  chop 
may  be  offered  at  the  same  time,  by  different  houses  under  two,  or  even 
three,  different  gradings.  As  there  are  no  fixed  standards  for  compari- 
son, it  is  next  to  impossible  to  absolutely  demonstrate  that  any  inferior 
delivery  is  not  of  the  classification  bought. 

Buyers  often  know  next  to  nothing  about  how  any  particular  silk 
should  be  classified.  Most  of  them  are  apt  to  declare  that  they  rarely 
buy  anything  lower  than  Extras  for  organzines,  or  lower  than  No*.  I 
Filatures  for  tram.  Also,  that  they  only  buy  hard-nature  silks  and 
Summer  reels.  Just  the  same,  there  is  a  large  importation  of  both 


26     CHARACTERISTICS    OF   JAPANESE   RAW   SILKS 

soft-nature  silk  and  so-called  Spring  reels,  and  a  great  quantity  of  silk 
below  No.  i  is  sold,  and  somebody  must  get  it. 

The  throwsters  can  speak  with  feeling  on  this  subject,  for  many 
of  their  clients  buy  silk  not  much  better  than  No.  I  to  iy2  for  organ- 
zine  and  then  wonder  that  it  does  not  run  well  in  the  looms,  and  still 
lower  qualities  will  be  regarded  by  them  as  first-class  tram  stock. 
These  clients  think  that  if  a  silk  is  troublesome  and  expensive  to  throw, 
it  is  the  throwster's  lookout  and  not  theirs,  but  they  fail  to  consider 
that  trouble  in  the  throwing  means  increased  waste,  and,  if  a  throwster 
is  out  of  pocket  10  cents  a  pound  for  excessive  labor  on  a  particular 
lot,  the  owner  of  the  silk  loses  as  much,  or  more,  on  the  excess  waste 
made,  but  this  he  generally  does  not  know  as  the  wastage  is  concealed 
by  a  heavy  soaping. 

If  throwsters'  prices  were  modified  by  the  grade  of  the  silk,  lower 
figures  being  charged  for  high-class  silk  and  higher  figures  for  poor 
silks,  it  would  help  to  correct  this,  but  they  are  not. 

Inferior  silks  of  whatever  grade  are  undesirable  property,  as  they 
mean  excessive  waste,  poor  merchandise,  and  diminished  production, 
and  it  is  a  notable  fact  that,  as  a  rule,  the  best  and  most  successful 
houses  are  free  users  of  the  very  best  silks. 

Rereels  and  Their  Relative  Cost. 

Rereels  go  very  well  in  the  throwing  process  and  are  much  .favored 
by  many  buyers.  There  is,  however,  no  way  to  distinguish  a  rereel, 
either  from  its  appearance  or  from  the  manner  in  which  it  is  put  up, 
from  the  regular  filatures,  nearly  all  of  which,  of  course,  have  also 
been  rereeled.  Now,  with  rereels  commanding  a  price  of  say  7*^  to 
i2*/2  cents  a  pound  above  the  price  of  No.  I  Filatures,  as  is  often  the 
case,  and  with  the  latter  silk  perhaps  just  as  good,  and  no  way  to 
distinguish  between  them,  the  temptation  to  put  well-known  rereel 
chop  tickets  on  market  chops  of  filatures  must  be  a  strong  one,  but 
whether  it  is  yielded  to  or  not  is  for  others  to  say. 

I  have  often  had  parcels  of  rereels  submitted  to  me  as  being  the 
very  last  20  or  40  bales  of  this  or  that  chop  to  be  had,  and,  having 
bought  them,  have  been  offered  a  few  days  later  more  of  the  same 
mark.  Whether  the  silks  on  such  occasions  are  held  back,  and  the 
quantity  for  sale  is  lied  about,  or  whether  the  additional  supplies  of 
rereels  are  secured  by  the  use  of  the  paste  brush  and  chop  tickets,  I 
do  not  know. 

Table  Showing  Gradings  of  Rereels. 

» In  this  connection  I  am  presenting  a  table  which  was  published  in 
"Silk,"  in  October,  1907,  showing  the  various  chops  and  grades  of 
the  principal  Japanese  rereel  factories,  as  produced  at  that  time. 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF  JAPANESE   RAW   SILKS      27 


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28     CHARACTERISTICS    OF   JAPANESE   RAW   SILKS. 

Inaccurate  Crop  Information. 

Reliable  information  as  to  the  real  size  of  the  crop,  and  the  amount 
of  silk  available  for  export,  is  not  always  to  be  had,  and  the  stock 
reported  as  being  on  hand  at  Yokohama  is  no  criterion.  It  is  realized 
that  if  too  large  a  stock  is  visible  there,  it  will  have  a  depressing  effect 
on  the  market,  and  the  opinion  seems  to  prevail  that,  even  if  the  reports 
of  stock  are  trustworthy,  silk  must  at  many  times  be  held  back  in  the 
interior  so  as  to  keep  it  out  of  sight. 

Unreliability  of  Chops. 

The  unreliability  of  chops,  and  the  loose  way  in  which  grades  are 
described,  is  bewildering.  Three  manufacturers  may  each  have  made 
a  purchase  of  "Extras"  at  the  same  time.  One  may  have  paid  $4.00, 
another  $4.10,  and  the  third  $4.20,  and  very  likely  the  $4.20  man  will 
not  have  got  a  real  Extra.  The  honest  dealer,  who  will  not  misrepre- 
sent his  silks,  is  at  a  serious  disadvantage  in  such  a  competition,  par- 
ticularly when  the  ignorance  of  so  many  of  the  buyers  is  considered, 
for,  while  such  a  dealer  may  be  able  to  sell  quite  as  cheap,  the  buyer 
cannot  judge  the  silk  well  and  simply  relies  on  its  nominal  classifi- 
cation. 

Some  salesmen  meet  the  situation  by  asking  the  manufacturer  for 
a  sample  of  his  "Extra"  or  other  grade,  or  for  the  name  of  the  chop 
he  is  buying,  and  then  quoting  on  one  of  similar  merit,  and  calling  it 
an  "Extra"  to  satisfy  him,  even  if  it  be  a  No.  I.  He  practically  names 
the  price,  and  they  supply  him  with  whatever  silk  can  be  offered  at 
that  figure. 

This,  in  turn,  means  the  undercosting  of  his  goods  by  that  manu- 
facturer, for,  by  the  time  he  finds  that  the  quality  he  is  using  has 
caused  him  diminished  production,  and  increased  cost  in  consequence, 
the  harm  has  been  done  as  his  prices  have  been  quoted  and  his  orders 
taken. 

Manufacturers  having  a  good  experience  with  certain  chops,  are 
apt  to  specify  those  marks  in  their  offers,  and  in  this  way  help  to  bid 
up  the  prices  on  themselves,  and  when  they  get  the  silk  it  may  be 
disappointingly  poor  compared  with  what  they  had  before. 

Private  Chops. 

Then,  they  may  turn  to  the  private  chops,  relying  on  the  inspec- 
tion and  care  of  the  houses  putting  out  such  marks.  Now  private 
chops,  in  many  cases,  do  not  sell  as  readily  or  command,  on  the  aver- 
age, quite  so  full  a  price  as  market  chops.  Of  course,  if  the  house 
offering  the  silk  has  been  able  to  buy  a  thoroughly  good  silk  for  the 
grade,  at  a  low  price,  either  because  of  its  being  a  new  or  little-known 
mark,  or  for  whatever  reason,  it  would  be  right  for  them  to  so  ticket 
it,  and  they  could  sell  at  a  little  lower  than  the  market  chops  and  at 
the  same  time  make  an  extra  profit  for  themselves. 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF   JAPANESE   RAW   SILKS.     29 

Such  opportunities  cannot  always  be  found,  and  the  temptation  is 
strong  for  those  putting  up  private  chops  to  select  silk  of  a  little  lower 
grade  than  they  should ;  and  different  houses,  even  some  of  high  stand- 
ing, at  times  put  out  silk  under  their  private  chops  that  is  disgracefully 
overclassified.  If  they  are  selling  to  any  customers  whose  credit  is 
poor,  and  who  are  not  in  a  position  to  rebel,  such  lots  are  sure  to  be 
unloaded  upon  them,  and,  perhaps,  may  even  have  been  put  up  with 
that  intention. 

In  this  way,  private  chops  are  often  spoken  of  in  disrespectful  terms, 
but  it  all  depends  on  the  house,  certain  houses  keeping  up  the  standard 
of  their  qualities  at  all  times. 

Nevertheless,  private  chops  do  not  give  the  guarantee  of  correct 
grading  that  is  the  only  reason  for  their  existence,  and  I  would  avoid 
them ;  and  I  do  not  believe  that  the  seller  has  the  right  to  deliver  his 
own  private  chops  against  a  contract,  unless  specially  arranged  for  with 
the  buyer. 

Manufacturers  Suffer  When  Silk  is  Wrong. 

Contracts  being  placed  as  they  are,  and  the  silk  being  carried  by 
the  importer  after  its  arrival  till  the  manufacturer  needs  it,  it  follows 
that  it  is  generally  not  called  for  till  just  when  it  is  needed. 

This  being  so,  the  manufacturer  finds  himself  in  an  unfortunate 
position  if  the  silk  turns  out  badly,  for  his  machinery  needs  silk  right 
then,  and,  unless  the  seller  has  a  spot  lot  of  equal  quality  with  which 
he  can  replace  it — which  is  not  often  the  case — the  manufacturer  is 
forced  to  go  ahead  and  use  this  poor  lot,  as  he  cannot  wait  for  an- 
other to  arrive. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  said  that,  as  the  bulk  of  Japanese  silks 
are  bought  to  arrive,  the  spot  business  being  relatively  very  small, 
a  buyer  has  no  assurance  as  to  what  sort  of  silk  he  will  receive  against 
his  order,  and,  in  the  last  analysis,  has  no  trustworthy  means  of  in- 
forming himself. 


IV 

ADULTERATION  OF  SILK  GOODS 


The  reputation  of  silk  fabrics  has,  of  late  years,  suffered  greatly 
in  the  public  estimation,  on  account  of  the  extent  to  which  the  use  of 
adulterants  has  been  carried,  resulting  in  a  general  overweighting  of 
their  goods  by  manufacturers. 

Retailers,  and  other  distributers,  from  time  to  time,  rush  into  print 
decrying  in  unmeasured  terms  this  practice,  boldly  charging  manu- 
facturers as  a  class  with  dishonesty,  and  talking  as  if  each  increase 
in  the  degradation  of  the  fabric  was  done  by  their  volition  and  design, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  their  profits. 

Where  Adulteration  is  Justifiable. 

It  is  well  to  inquire  what  adulterations  are  right  and  necessary, 
what  are  to  be  condemned,  and  who  are  the  people  mainly  responsible 
for  them. 

Any  deceit,  practised  on  any  customer,  by  manufacturer,  jobber, 
cutter-up,  or  retailer,  is  wrong  and  indefensible,  and  if  goods  are  adul- 
terated they  should  not  be  represented  as  other  than  what  they  are; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  if  there  be  no  deception,  many  goods  can  be 
adulterated  with  great  advantage  to  all  concerned. 

Take  rubber,  for  instance.  The  price  of  crude  rubber  may  be  $1.50 
a  pound.  If  our  garden  hose,  overshoes,  or  other  rubber  goods  were 
composed  solely  of  the  pure  stock,  the  prices  would  be  so  high  as  to 
force  many  goods  out  of  general  use,  and  also  would  no  doubt  push 
the  price  of  the  pure  gum  far  above  such  a  level  as  the  above.  It 
is  quite  true  that  a  great  quantity  of  trashy,  so-called  rubber,  goods 
are  regularly  sold,  the  adulterations  being  far  in  excess  of  reasonable 
limits;  but  it  is  also  equally  true  that  a  judicious  and  reasonable  ad- 
mixture of  foreign  substances  with  the  rubber,  will  allow  of  the  manu- 
facture of  rubber  goods  with  thoroughly  good  wearing  qualities  and  at 


ADULTERATION   OF  SILK   GOODS  31 

most  reasonable  prices.  In  this  way,  the  consumer  saves  money,  the 
world's  supply  of  the  material  is  conserved,  and  the  manufacturer 
and  dealer  find  their  account  not  in  any  increase  in  their  percentage 
of  profit  (for  the  competition  in  trade  prevents  that),  but  in  the  widen- 
ing of  the  field  for  articles  made  of  rubber,  which  means  a  larger 
manufacture  and  a  larger  sale. 

Shoddy  and  Woolens. 

Then,  there  is  the  introduction  into  woolen  goods  of  so-called 
shoddy  admixtures,  which  some  of  our  well  intentioned  but  not  very 
well  informed  Congressmen,  laboring  for  the  public  weal,  have  been 
earnestly  trying  to  have  prohibited  by  law,  though,  fortunately,  the 
absurdity  of  their  propositions,  and  the  impossibility  of  enforcing  the 
proposed  laws,  have  so  far  been  made  apparent  in  time  to  prevent  the 
enactment  of  such  measures. 

The  term  "shoddy"  covers  a  wide  range  of  substances,  and  is  often 
used  to  include  all  waste  textile  products,  whether  they  be  new  wastes 
from  the  mill  machinery  or  scraps  of  the  oldest  and  poorest  clothing. 
The  columns  of  various  textile  papers,  which  give  waste  and  shoddy 
quotations,  will  show  what  a  long  list  of  materials  are  included  under 
this  head — noils,  card  waste,  all  kinds  of  spinning,  weaving  and  knit- 
ting waste,  flocks,  mungo,  garnett  waste,  old  stockings  and  jerseys, 
new  tailors'  clips,  seamed  and  unseamed  rags,  and  a  lot  of  others. 

At  the  one  end  of  the  scale  may  stand  the  long  and  beautiful  white 
wool  and  worsted  waste,  from  the  combing,  spinning,  knitting  and 
weaving  operations,  or  long  and  fine  white  worsted  waste  extracted 
by  the  garnett  machine  from  old  white  jerseys,  sweaters,  etc.,  and 
these  materials,  when  worked  over,  may  be,  and  frequently  are,  far 
superior  to  much  of  the  new  wool,  fresh  from  the  sheep's  back,  that 
is  on  the  market,  and  the  price  is  correspondingly  high. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  scale  (leaving  out  the  floor  sweepings  mixed 
with  trash),  may  be  placed  the  shear  flocks,  that  fine  woolen  dust,  as 
it  might  be  called,  which  is  sheared  from  the  face  of  the  cloth,  and 
which  is  very  useful  in  increasing  the  weight  of  such  fabrics  as  ladies' 
cloths  and  other  fulled  goods. 

The  use,  and  re-use,  and  use  again  on  a  descending  scale,  of  these 
various  waste  materials,  furnishes  the  mainstay  of  the  stock  of  woolen 
material  that  is  annually  required  to  clothe  the  race  and  protect  the 
people  of  the  country  from  cold.  Were  the  use  of  such  materials  pro- 
hibited, woolen  garments  would  be  beyond  the  reach  of  the  poor. 

Manufacturers  are  not  anxious  to  use  these  admixtures,  as  they 
are  very  troublesome  to  handle,  while  to  have  the  best  new  stock  for 
his  raw  material  would  make  any  mill  man  happy.  It  is  the  necessity 
of  furnishing  goods  at  prices  within  the  reach  of  the  masses  that 
drives  him  to  use  shoddies,  and  the  competition  prevents  his  getting 
any  better  profit  from  the  fabrics  so  made. 


32  ADULTERATION    OF  SILK    GOODS 

Annual  Per  Capita  Supply  of  New  Wool. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  state  here  that,  in  1907  (and  similarly  for 
other  years),  the  amount  of  scoured  wool  annually  produced  in,  and 
imported  into,  the  United  States,  306,500,000  pounds,  would  only  allow 
54%  oz.  of  scoured  wool  (which  will  lose  30  per  cent,  in  manufac- 
turing), for  each  inhabitant,  to  provide  for  all  their  multifarious  needs, 
whether  blankets,  carpets,  clothes,  or  what  not.  How  far  would  this 
go  unless  backed  up  by  the  great  floating  stock  of  re-manufactured 
wool? 

The  70  per  cent,  remaining  from  the  54%  oz.  would  be  38%  oz., 
equal  to  about  2%  yards  of  16  oz.  54-inch  men's  wear  goods,  so,  if 
a  man  was  restricted  to  his  share  of  the  stock  of  new  woolen  material, 
he  would  have  enough  for  a  coat  and  waistcoat,  but  would  have  to 
go  without  trousers. 

The  cotton  cloth  used  for  bags  for  salt  or  flour  has  large  amounts 
of  clay  and  starch  in  its  composition,  thereby  making  a  cheaper  and 
yet  thoroughly  serviceable  and  satisfactory  article,  and  at  the  same 
time  reducing  the  demand  upon  the  over-taxed  cotton  fields. 

Many  other  instances  of  so-called  adulterations  could  be  cited,  cov- 
ering a  wide  variety  of  products,  where  the  uses  of  goods  have  been 
extended,  prices  have  been  lowered,  and  the  drain  upon  supplies  of 
raw  material,  difficult  and  costly  to  produce,  has  been  lessened. 

All  of  these  instances  bear  out  the  statement  that,  within  proper 
commercial  limits,  and  allowing  that  no  deception  be  practiced,  many 
adulterations,  or  admixtures  of  foreign  material,  are  not  only  defensible 
but  absolutely  necessary. 

Fraudulent  Representations. 

Fraudulent  representation  is  common,  mostly  on  the  part  of  those 
who  deal  with  the  consumer.  Brass-plated  iron  is  sold  as  solid  brass ; 
papier-mache  as  leather ;  cotton-mixed  cloths  as  all  wool ;  lumber,  cur- 
tain poles,  etc.,  furnished  in  scant  size ;  coal  allowed  to  have  much  slate 
(dignified  by  the  name  of  bone)  in  it;  oleo-margarine  masquerading 
as  butter;  and  so  on,  ad  infinitum.  The  fraud,  be  it  observed,  is  not 
in  the  production  and  sale  of  the  goods,  but  in  the  representing  them 
to  be  something  other  than  what  they  are. 

Silk  Weighting,  and  Why. 

Returning  to  silk,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that,  originally,  the  desire 
to  use  weighting  agents  was  created  by  the  large  loss  that  silk  under- 
goes in  the  boiling-off  processs  preparatory  to  the  dyeing.  It  is  no 
light  matter  to  see  the  weight  of  such  an  expensive  material  shrink, 
in  this  way,  from  20  to  25  per  cent.  When,  therefore,  it  was  observed 
that  silk  had  an  affinity  for  certain  substances  which  it  would  absorb, 
and  still  retain  through  the  dyeing  process,  what  more  natural  than  that 
they  should  be  so  employed? 


ADULTERATION    OF   SILK    GOODS  33 

The  practice  of  weighting  the  silk  having  been  once  begun  it  would 
be  naturally  used  to  a  greater  and  greater  extent,  being  limited  only 
by  the  power  of  the  material  to  absorb  it,  the  ability  of  the  dyer  to 
apply  it,  or  the  limitations  of  the  strength  of  the  fibre. 

There  are  many  substances  ihat  can  be  used  as  weighting  materials, 
such  as  sugar,  different*  forms  of  tannin,  salts  of  iron,  tin,  and  other 
metals,  and  a  variety  of  other  agents. 

Sugar  has  largely  gone  out  as  a  weighting  agent,  and  so  to  a  great 
extent  have  gall  and  tannin,  for  colors,  these  latter  materials  being  un- 
suitable for  use  where  pale  shades  are  needed.  The  iron  dye  is  used 
where  blue-blacks  are  required.  The  weighting  material  of  the  great- 
est general  use  is  tin,  that  is,  the  metal  tin  dissolved  in  dilute  hydro- 
chloric acid. 

As  this  solution  is  colorless,  it  can  be  employed  when  dyeing  the 
most  delicate  colors,  and  while  for  some  time  dyers  continued  to  dye 
the  dark  shades  in  gall  weighting,  using  the  tin  for  the  pale  shades, 
they  have  eventually  found  it  more  convenient  and  economical  to  use 
tin  for  all  colors. 

Processes  of  Weighting. 

Without  going  into  technical  descriptions  it  may  be  explained  that, 
after  the  boiling  out  of  the  natural  gum  in  the  silk,  if  it  is  then 
treated  to  a  bath  of  the  tin  liquor  it  will  absorb  a  certain  amount,  say 
a  couple  of  ounces  to  the  pound  of  silk.  If  the  silk  is  now  washed 
out,  treated  to  a  bath  of  a  phosphate  of  soda  preparation,  and  again 
washed  out,  it  is  brought  into  a  condition  where  it  will  absorb  a  couple 
more  ounces  of  the  tin. 

This  succession  of  baths  can  be  carried  on  continuously,  being  lim- 
ited only  by  the  skill  of  the  dyer  and  the  diminishing  strength  of  the 
silk. 

Limits  of  Weighting. 

It  is  a  matter  of  nice  judgment  to  know  how  far  it  is  prudent  to 
go  in  weighting,  and  this  will  depend  on  many  things — the  character 
of  the  silk,  whether  organzine  or  tram,  whether  colors  or  blacks,  the 
use  to  which  the  goods  are  to  be  put,  etc.,  etc. 

Where  filling  is  wanted  for  cheap,  black,  heavy  ribbed  gros-grain, 
or  similar  fabrics,  where  the  filling  is  entirely  covered,  silk  weighted 
to  40  oz.  and  upwards  can  be  employed;  that  is,  a  pound  of  silk, 
boiling  off  to  12  or  13  oz.,  can  have  added  to  it  enough  adulterant 
to  increase  its  weight  to  the  above  figure. 

For  "bright"  silks  in  blacks,  that  is,  for  silks  from  which  the  gum 
has  been  fully  discharged,  and  which  in  consequence  have  a  good  lustre, 
the  maximum  limit  of  weighting  is  about  44  oz.,  and  about  40  oz.  is 
the  limit  in  the  case  of  spun  or  schappe  silks. 

Souple  silks,  being  those  from  which  very  little  of  the  gum  has  been 


34  ADULTERATION    OF   SILK    GOODS 


discharged,  and  which  are  consequently  somewhat  dead  and  lustreless 
in  appearance,  can  be  weighted  up  to  60  oz. 

For  ordinary  black  goods  of  fair  quality,  the  warp  may  be  weighted, 
say,  from  20  to  26  oz.,  and  the  rilling,  say,  from  26  to  30  oz. 

In  colored  goods  with  tin  weighting,  it  is  not  usually  safe  to  go 
above  about  18  oz.  for  warp  and  24  oz.  for  filling,  which  would  mean 
that  a  silk  fabric,  whose  warp  and  filling  were  equal  in  amount,  and 
the  silk  in  which  boiled  off,  say,  20  per  cent.,  would  be  so  treated  that 
the  apparently  pure  silk,  finished,  article  would  really  be  composed 
of  61  per  cent,  of  silk  and  39  per  cent,  of  tin. 

The  writer's  opinion  is,  that  the  limits  of  judicious  weightings 
(as  far  as  the  durability  of  the  silk  is  concerned),  are  16  oz.  for 
organzine,  and  22  oz.  for  tram,  when  Asiatic  silks  are  used,  and  less 
weightings  for  silks  with  greater  boil-offs.  Above  these  limits,  silks 
are  apt  to  deteriorate  too  soon. 

Relative  Weights  of  Fibre  and  Adulterant. 

The  real  amount  of  weighting,  that  is,  the  percentage  of  adulterant 
added  to  the  silk  fibre  by  these  weightings  of  various  ounces,  will  de- 
pend upon  the  amount  of  gum,  soap  and  oil,  that  the  thrown  silk  loses 
in  the  boiling-off. 

Most  manufacturers  have  no  real  idea  of  the  percentage  of  loading* 
they  are  putting  on  their  silk,  as  they  seldom  have  boil-off  tests  made 
on  their  thrown  silk. 

If  silk  was  regularly  ordered  weighted  2%4  oz.  (that  is,  that  16 
oz.  of  thrown  silk  must,  when  dyed,  weigh  not  less  than  22,  nor  more 
than  24  oz.),  it  might  happen  that  one  lot  of  Japan  tram  would  have 
a  natural  boil-off  of  16  per  cent.,  that  2  per  cent,  of  soap  and  oil  had 
been  added  by  the  throwster,  and  that  the  weight  returned  by  the  dyer 
might  be  22  oz. 

Another  lot  might  have  a  natural  boil-off  of  20  per  cent.,  the 
throwster  might  have  added  4  per  cent,  of  soap  and  oil,  and  the  return 
weight  might  be  24  oz. 

Now,  the  manufacturer  thinks  that  both  lots  are  weighted  alike,  yet 
the  first  would  have  been  weighted  but  67.68  per  cent.,  while  the  last 
would  be  loaded  97.36  per  cent. 

This  well  illustrates  the  practical  difficulty  that  would  confront 
those  who  wish  laws  passed  requiring  manufacturers  to  mark  on  their 
goods  the  exact  amount  of  adulterant  contained  in  them. 

Of  course,  these  figures  are  all  relative,  heavier  weightings  being 
permissible  for  special  reasons  and  lighter  weightings  being  necessary 
in  many  cases. 

Dyers,  and  Their  Charges. 

This  adulterating  is  a  high-class  chemical  art,  and  any  carelessness, 
or  mistake  in  process,  may  so  destroy  the  strength  of  the  silk  either 
at  the  time,  or  before  it  has  been  long  in  stock,  as  to  make  it  rotten 


ADULTERATION    OF    SILK    GOODS  35 

and  worthless.  For  this  reason  it  is  vitally  important  far  manufac- 
turers to  commit  their  work  only  to  dyers  of  the  highest  reputation, 
and,  by  preference,  to  those  sufficiently  strong  financially  to  be  able 
to  pay  a  heavy  claim  for  damage  should  the  occasion  ever  arise,  which, 
with  such  firms,  it  is  not  apt  to.  Whatever  such  a  dyer's  price  may 
be,  above  competitive  quotations,  it  will  be  no  more  than  what  it  is 
worth  to  the  manufacturer  as  an  insurance  that  he  will  get  his  silk 
properly  handled. 

Such  work  of  course  is  not  cheap.  While  pure  dye  may  cost  250. 
a  pound,  14-16  oz.  will  be  5<DC.  and  20-22  oz.  goc.,  in  colors,  while  the 
very  heavy  weightings  on  blacks  may  run  up  to  $2.50  a  pound.  From 
these  prices  there  will  be  some  discount,  according  to  the  market  and 
the  size  of  the  customer's  business.  While  expensive,  the  weighting, 
naturally,  costs  less  than  the  silk. 

Advantage  of  Adulteration  to   the  Consumer. 

Taking  now  an  ordinary  I9~in.  colored  taffeta,  of  a  good  quality, 
retailing  at,  say,  75  cents  a  yard,  and  composed  of  five-eighths  silk 
and  three-eighths  tin,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  if  such  a  cloth  has  been 
made  of  good  silk,  carefully  weighted  and  dyed,  and  well  manufac- 
tured, it  can  be  safely  claimed  to  be  a  sound  commercial  article,  that 
if  properly  stored  will  not  deteriorate  by  being  kept  in  stock  for  an 
extended  period,  and  that  will  give  most  satisfactory  wear  in  service 
for  all  usual  purposes. 

Such  a  fabric,  if  made  in  pure  dye,  could  not,  on  the  same  rela- 
tive basis  of  costs,  be  retailed  at  less  than  about  $1.10  a  yard. 

The  woman  who  has  a  waist  or  dress  made  of  a  colored  silk  does 
not  expect  or  desire  it  to  last  for  a  life-time.  At  the  end  of  the  season 
it  is  much  soiled,  the  fashion  of  the  sleeves,  etc.,  has  changd,  and  the 
color  may  be  passe.  If  she  desires,  she  may  get  a  second  season's 
wear  from  it,  but  if  it  were  indestructible  she  would  seldom  want  to 
wear  it  longer. 

She  has,  therefore,  been  able  to  get  her  material  of  the  right  weight, 
feeling,  color,  and  strength  at  a  price  of  only  two-thirds  of  what  it 
would  have  cost  her  had  adulterants  been  unknown,  and  the  quantity 
of  raw-silk  that  would  otherwise  have  had  to  be  produced  has  been 
lessened  in  consequence. 

Here  is  a  clear  commercial  gain  to  the  world,  in  that  a  smaller 
value  of  material  has  been  made  to  do  the  work  of  a  larger  value,  and 
no  one  has  suffered  in  consequence. 

Difficulties  with  Weighted  Silks. 

It  is  true  that  all  weighted  silks  have  some  drawbacks,  and  are  not 
suited  for  every  surpose.  Tin-weighted  fabrics,  particularly  in  pale 
shades,  deteriorate  rapidly  in  strength  when  subjected  to  continued 
exposure  to  sunlight.  The  acid  of  perspiration,  too,  will  speedily  rot 


36  ADULTERATION   OF   SILK    GOODS 


such  a  cloth  so  that  ample-sized  dress  shields  are  a  necessity  for  waists 
made  of  weighted  silk.  There  is  always  a  chance,  also,  that  some  oc- 
casional lot,  even  when  very  little  weighted,  may  have  gone  wrong 
in  the  dyeing,  and  the  goods  made  from  it  may  prove  to  be  defective 
in  strength.  This  should  be  a  very  unusual  occurrence. 

Where  the  Blame  Lies  for  Overweighting. 

Allowing,  now,  the  commercial  propriety  and  necessity  of  such 
reasonable  adulterations  as  manufacturers  are  compelled  to  use,  and  in 
using  which  the  competition  prevents  them  from  realizing  any  extra 
profit  (for  the  dyer  will  weight  silk  for  any  one  and  every  one),  and 
allowing  that  manufacturers  always  prefer  to  use  good  materials  and 
that  consumers  desire  to  puchase  reliable  goods,  why  is  it  that  we 
find  such  grossly  excessive  weightings  employed,  which  give  the  makers 
no  end  of  trouble,  and  which  go  into  fabrics  that  get  rotten  almost 
as  soon  as  made  up  into  garments,  and  which  bring  all  silk  fabrics  into 
disrepute  ? 

Who  is  the  one  who  puts  this  pressure  on  the  producer  to  lower, 
and  still  lower,  the  quality  of  his  merchandise,  while  still  making  a 
fabric  of  seeming  worth?  The  blame  lies  squarely  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  distributers — the  retailers  and  cutters-up — those  gentlemen  who 
so  vigorously  condemn  the  adulteration  of  silks. 

The  buyer  is  under  no  illusion  as  to  the  fact  of  the  merchandise 
he  orders  being  heavily  weighted,  or,  if  he  is,  he  is  not  fit  for  his 
position.  Let  him  just  weigh  a  heavy  but  cheap  piece  of  black  taffeta 
or  satin,  and  then  look  up  the  ruling  quotations  on  raw-silks,  and  he 
will  probably  find  that  the  total  price  he  is  paying  for  the  goods  would 
hardly  be  as  much  as  the  same  number  of  pounds  of  unmanufactured 
silk  would  cost. 

Retailers'  Advertisements,  and  Their  Expenses. 

Then  glance  at  the  advertisements  of  certain  retail  houses  and  see 
what  they  offer  as  bargains.  Here  is  one:  "27-in.  fine,  heavy,  black 
taffeta,  all  pure  silk,  59  cents ;  our  regular  6Q-cent  quality."  Such  a 
description  as  this  is  a  lie,  and  the  palming  off  of  such  trash  on  the 
public  as  "all  pure  silk"  is  a  swindle.  In  some  other  branches  of 
trade  obtaining  money  under  false  pretenses  is  likely  to  put  the  persons 
who  do  it  behind  the  bars,  but  this  is  just  what  such  advertisers  are 
doing.  It  is  here  that  the  deception  is  practised,  and  yet  these  are  the 
moralists  who  accuse  the  manufacturers  of  deceit. 

The  expense  of  doing  a  retail  business  in  the  cities  has  been  con- 
stantly increasing.  Higher  rents,  finer  stores  and  fittings,  more  taxes 
and  insurance,  free  delivery  of  goods  further  and  further  afield,  moun- 
tains of  goods  cut  up  and  mailed  out  as  samples,  heavy  advertising 
charges,  higher  wages,  and  many  other  things  have  so  increased  the 
ratio  of  selling  expenses  that  a  larger  margin  of  profit  than  ever  before 
must  be  looked  for. 


ADULTERATION    OF   SILK    GOODS  37 

Silk  goods,  like  all  other  merchandise,  will  cost  more  to  make  as 
the  raw  material  market  advances,  to  say  nothing  of  increases  in  cost 
due  to  higher  wages,  etc.,  and,  therefore,  at  times,  a  higher  price  must 
be  had  for  the  making  of  any  standard  quality  of  goods. 

The  retailer,  however,  refuses  to  consider  any  price  for  goods  that 
does  not  show  him  a  certain  average  of  profit — say  40  per  cent,  (and 
he  wants  as  much  more  as  he  can  get),  and  he  still  wants  to  retail  his 
goods  at  prices  as  low  as,  or  lower  than,  usual,  so  the  manufacturer, 
with  frequently  a  higher  cost,  is  invited  to  make  even  lower  prices  to 
offset  the  increased  cost  that  the  retailer  is  at  in  doing  his  business. 

Trying  to  do  the  Impossible. 

The  manufacturers  struggle  madly  to  do  this  impossible  thing,  and 
between  them  prices  come  down  to  a  point  where  it  is  not  a  question 
as  to  who  will  take  the  least  profit  but  who  is  willing  to  make  the  big- 
gest loss. 

Not  getting  as  low  a  price,  perhaps,  as  he  demands,  the  retailer, 
instead  of  placing  a  large  advance  order,  says  that  he  will  wait.  Owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  jobber  has  been  almost  eliminated,  and  that  the 
great  bulk  of  the  goods  is  sold  direct  by  the  mill  agents  to  the  retailers, 
it  follows  that  the  mills  need  orders  long  before  the  retailers  need 
goods,  and  these  latter  are  consequently  in  a  most  commanding  position. 

The  retailer,  therefore,  waits,  and  waits,  for  weeks  and  for  months, 
and  meantime  the  manufacturer  is  sweating  blood,  as  he  must  either 
take  the  hazard  (generally  a  losing  one)  of  making  goods  for  stock, 
or  see  his  machinery  standing  idle  and  his  organization  dispersed.  The 
cutter-up  is  equally  insistent  in  his  demands,  and  equally  able  to  wait, 
and  between  them  they  have  the  manufacturer  by  the  throat.  This 
is  the  compulsion  that  leads  to  overweighting,  and  it  is  due  to  the 
refusal  of  the  distributer  to  pay  the  price  necessary  to  get  decent  goods. 

Refusing  to  Overweight  Goods. 

Some  manufacturers  will  not  make  goods  that  will  go  rotten  for 
any  consideration,  and  they  generally  suffer  in  consequence,  for  along 
comes  some  competitor  who  offers  a  cloth,  grossly  overweighted,  but 
which  looks  and  feels  all  right  and  which  suits  the  customers'  ideas 
of  price,  and  he  walks  off  with  the  business.  The  distributer  does  not 
appear  to  care  much  as  to  how  durable  the  goods  are,  so  long  as  too 
many  complaints  about  them  do  not  come  in. 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing,  either,  for  a  buyer,  who  has  given  the 
go-by  to  a  line  of  goods  of  approved  merit  which  he  has  been  handling 
(and  for  a  difference  in  price  of  perhaps  a  cent  a  yard),  to  tell  the 
mill  salesman  in  confidence  that  he  wants  the  goods,  believes  they  are 
worth  much  more  than  the  difference  in  price,  and  that  he  would 
willingly  buy  them,  but  that  his  principals  would  find  fault  with  him 
for  doing  so.  He  would,  perhaps,  be  told  by  them  that  every  one  else 


38  ADULTERATION    OF   SILK    GOODS 

was  buying  this  same  grade  from  such  and  such  houses  at  the  lower 
price,  and  getting  the  regular  retail  figure  for  them,  and  that,  whether 
the  fabric  was  quite  as  good  or  not,  there  was  no  special  complaint 
about  it,  and  that  if  he  bought  the  higher  priced  one  he  would  be  simply 
throwing  away  a  cent  a  yard  of  the  firm's  money,  and  that  they  would 
not  sanction  it. 

Cutters-up  of  goods  habitually  say  that  they  don't  care  what  is 
in  the  goods  as  long  as  they  look  well,  feel  well,  and  are  fairly  strong 
at  the  time.  Then,  when  they  are  cut  up  and  sent  out,  that  is  the  last 
they  hear  of  them. 

All  of  these  distributers  know,  or  should  know,  that  such  goods  are 
going  to  be  unsatisfactory  in  very  many  cases,  but  they  are  not  in  the 
slightest  degree  concerned  about  this  so  long  as  they  do  not  have  to 
allow  too  many  claims,  and  these  they  try  to  pass  on  to  the  manu- 
facturer. What  interests  them  vitally  is  to  increase  by  every  means, 
and  at  any  cost,  their  already  very  liberal  profits,  and  hence  they  pur- 
chase and  distribute  goods  that  never  ought  to  be  allowed  on  their 
counters. 

Trade  publications,  newspapers,  and  many  people  who  are  prom- 
inently identified  with  the  trade,  are  very  free  with  advice  to  the  pro- 
ducers to  get  away  from  cheap  stuff  and  make  better  (and  naturally 
more  expensive)  goods,  saying  that  such  a  course  is  vitally  necessary 
if  silk  is  to  be  rehabilitated  in  popular  esteem.  This  advice  is  all  very 
well,  but  it  seems  impossible  to  get  such  goods  before  the  purchasing 
public  in  any  quantity. 

The  Barrier  to  the  Sale  of  Sound  Goods. 

The  retailer  is  the  barrier  that  prevents  the  manufacturer  from 
making  honest  goods  and  the  purchaser  from  getting  a  chance  to 
buy  them.  He  wants  goods  that  are  first  cheap,  and  which  appear  to 
be  good,  as  he  can  then  make  large  sales  easily  and  with  a  big  margin 
of  profit.  If  you  want  him  to  handle  and  push  a  line  of  pure-dye 
goods,  and  represent  them  as  such,  he  would  probably  decline,  as  the 
question  would  at  once  be  raised  by  the  customer  that  if  these  were 
pure  dye  what,  then,  is  all  the  rest  of  his  stock  composed  of?  The 
cutter-up  reasons  in  the  same  way. 

That  purchasers  do  appreciate  good  wearing  goods  is  evident  from 
the  constant  favor  which  is  shown  for  such  goods  as  foulards,  crepes, 
Shantungs,  etc.,  which,  being  piece-dyed,  have  been  free  from  weight- 
ing. 

The  Weighting  of  Piece  Dyes. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  weightings  have  at  last  been  com- 
mercially applied  to  piece-dyed  fabrics.  At  this  writing  (January, 
1913),  chiffons  are  being  extensively  adulterated,  as  are  certain  satin- 
faced  fabrics  made  of  raw-silk,  and  this  is  done  in  ribbons  as  well  as 
in  broad  goods. 


ADULTERATION    OF   SILK    GOODS  39 

The  weighting  given  to  such  raw-silk  fabrics  runs  up  to  nearly 
100  per  cent.,  which,  on  silks  having  a  25  per  cent,  boil-off,  is  equal 
to  24  ounces. 

With  fabrics  made  of  organzine  and  tram,  it  is  probably  as  cheap 
to  weight  them  in  the  skein  as  it  is  in  the  piece.  Honestly  made  goods 
of  any  kind  would  have  their  proper  and  continued  sale,  but  the  con- 
sumer has  no  way  of  knowing  whose  goods  she  is  getting,  and  where 
a  line  of  poorer  goods  is  substituted  by  the  retailer,  for  the  reason 
of  a  difference  of  a  cent  a  yard  in  price,  she  is  no  wiser,  except  that 
she  finds  that  this  gown  did  not  wear  well,  while  the  last  one  of  the 
supposedly  same  quality  did,  and  so  she  gets  the  belief  that  no  silks 
are  reliable. 

A  Suggested  Remedy. 

Overweighting  will  continue,  and  the  unloading  of  inferior  goods 
on  the  public  will  continue,  just  so  long  as  the  different  makes  are 
unidentifiable.  Let  the  manufacturers,  however,  each  for  his  own  prod- 
ucts and  each  in  his  own  way,  go  over  the  heads  of  the  retailers  and 
advertise  their  goods  direct  to  the  public,  and  have  them  marked  so 
as  to  be  known.  The  demand  for  such  meritorious  goods  would  then 
come  on  the  retailer  and  he  would  be  compelled  to  keep  them  in  stock, 
and  instead  of  the  retailer  stating  how  much  profit  he  must  have,  and 
the  price  at  which  he  must  buy  his  goods,  the  manufacturer  would 
fix  the  retail  price,  and  might  also  fix  the  amount  of  profit  that  the 
retailer  would  have  to  be  content  with. 

This  has  been  done  in  many  instances  and  is  a  growing  custom, 
and,  if  it  becomes  general,  the  distributers  may  find  that  their  greedi- 
ness has  been  the  cause  of  their  being  placed  in  a  position  where  they 
are  compelled  to  do  a  large  portion  of  their  business  on  advertised 
fabrics,  and  on  a  very  narrow  margin  of  profit. 


V 


ANALYSIS  OF  PERCENTAGES  AND  COSTS  OF 
WEIGHTINGS 


The  basis  upon  which  the  skein  silk  dyers  of  the  United  States 
make  their  charges  is  a  peculiar  one.  It  is  what  might  be  called  the 
"ounce"  method. 

How  Weightings  are  Ordered. 

Every  one  knows  how  the  dyers'  printed  price  lists  read:  "Colors, 
Pure  Dye — 25c. ;  14/16  oz.,  5<Dc.,  16/18  oz.,  6oc.,"  etc.,  etc.  The  un- 
derstanding is  that  if,  say,  20/22  oz.  weighting,  listed  as  QOC.  a  pound 
for  colors,  is  wanted,  and  if  the  dye  order  is  for  100  pounds,  the  dyer 
will  weigh  out  100  pounds  of  the  customer's  silk,  on  the  basis  of  the 
ticket,  bundle,  or  scale  weight  as  received  by  him. 

If  the  silk,  from  which  the  lot  for  the  order  is  to  be  drawn,  has 
taken  up  moisture  or  has  dried  out,  while  in  store  at  the  dye  house, 
a  proper  allowance  should  be  made  when  weighting  it  out,  as  it  is 
necessary  to  do  this  in  order  to  have  the  lot  check  out  properly  when 
all  of  it  is  used  up. 

The  natural  gum,  and  any  soap  and  oil  added  in  the  throwing,  is 
then  boiled  out  of  the  silk,  after  which  it  is  treated  to  weighting  baths 
till  the  original  pound  of  16  ounces  of  silk  is  brought  up  to  the  20/22 
oz.  weighting  ordered. 

In  this  case,  the  weight  of  the  dyed  silk  should  not  come  below 
20  ounces  for  each  pound  put  in  work,  and,  unless  by  special  agree- 
ment, a  greater  weight  than  22  ounces  cannot  be  claimed.  If  the 
weight  comes  less  than  20  ounces,  the  customer  can  claim  the  price 
corresponding  with  what  it  weighs.  If,  however,  it  runs  over  22 
ounces,  even  when  not  specially  agreed  upon,  the  dyer  cannot  charge 
more  for  the  extra  weight. 


PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS .  OF ,  WEIGHTINGS       41 


It  has  become  quite  a  common  practice,  of  late,  for  manufacturers 
to  demand,  and  to  receive,  from  the  dyers  a  couple  of  ounces  more 
weighting  than  each  of  the  various  prices  calls  for,  but  in  such  cases 
the  discount  given  cannot  be  as  large  as  it  otherwise  might  be. 

Relation  of  Weighting  to  Silk  Fibre. 

Without  regard  to  this,  we  will  suppose  that  the  customer  wants, 
and  the  dyer  gives,  22  ounce  weighting.  The  silk,  when  weighted,  col- 
ored, and  finished  will  therefore  have  increased  in  weight  in  the  same 
proportion  as  16  ounces  bears  to  22  ounces,  and  this  figures  out  a 
return  weight  of  137^  pounds.  What,  now,  is  the  amount  of  dye- 
stuff  and  the  amount  of  silk  fibre  in  this  dyed  material? 

The  manufacturer  cannot  tell  unless  he  knows  the  conditioned 
weight  and  the  boil-off  of  the  thrown  silk. 

The  dyer  cannot  tell,  though  he  knows  more  than  the  manufacturer 
about  it,  for,  while  he  does  not  know  the  conditioned  weight,  he  has 
found  out,  in  the  stripping  of  the  silk  from  its  gum,  etc.,  approximately 
what  the  boil-off  has  been. 

Losses  Caused  by  Ignorance  of  Boil-Offs. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here,  as  a  matter  of  first-class  importance, 
that  the  failure  to  furnish  the  dyer  with  exact  information  as  to  the 
boil-off  of  the  silk  is  the  cause  of  most  serious  loss  to  the  manufacturer. 

Not  knowing  anything  on  this  point,  the  dyer  has  got  to  go  ahead 
and  do  the  best  he  can,  and  so  he  prepares  stripping  baths  of  certain 
proportions  for  Japans,  others  for  Italians,  and  so  on.  All  of  the 
different  lots,  regardless  of  their  varying,  but  unknown,  boil-offs,  go 
through  the  same  treatment  and,  while  most  of  them  are  satisfactory, 
there  are  many  lots  of  such  a  nature  that  they  cannot  stand  the  almost 
complete  degumming  that  they  may  thus  get,  and  which  are  severely 
injured. 

The  result  is  seen  in  the  hairy  and  "lousy"  lots  of  silk  that  give  so 
much  trouble,  and  in  the  general  unsatisfactoriness  of  such  lots.  The 
loss  falls  on  the  manufacturer,  and  the  dyer  cannot  be  held  very  blame- 
able  if  his  customer  will  not  afford  him  the  information  necessary 
for  the  proper  working  of  the  silk. 

Variations  in  Weighting. 

To  return  to  our  illustration,  we  will  assume  that  the  silk  that  is 
being  dyed  is  a  Japan  tram,  having  a  boil-off  in  the  raw  of  18  per  cent., 
and  that  2  per  cent,  of  soap  and  oil  was  added  to  it  by  the  throwster, 
so  that  it  has  now  a  boil-off  of  20  per  cent. 

We  will  also  assume  that  the  ticket,  bundle,  or  scale  weight  hap- 
pened to  correspond  with  thrown  conditioned  weight  (absolute  dry 
silk  fibre  plus  any  soap  and  oil  added  to  it  and  the  standard  regain  of  1 1 
per  cent,  of  moisture),  and  we  will  therefore  so  consider  it. 


42      PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS 


Our  100  pounds  is  now  seen  to  consist  of  2  pounds  of  soap  and 
oil,  1 8  pounds  of  soluble  silk- worm  gum,  and  80  pounds  of  silk  fibre. 
This  80  pounds,  in  turn,  consists  of  the  normal  proportion  of  about  72 
pounds  of  dried-out  silk  fibre  and  8  pounds  of  moisture,  that  together 
make  up  the  conditioned  weight. 

What  the  dyer  returns  is  what  he  has  added  to  the  silk,  namely, 
weighting  material,  dye-stuff  and  coloring,  plus  the  net  silk  fibre 
treated.  This,  of  course,  carries  its  proper  proportion  of  moisture, 
affected,  no  doubt,  in  a  slight  but  unknown  degree,  by  the  manner 
in  which  the  treatment  of  the  silk  will  modify  its  power  of  absorbing 
water. 

We  have  now  received  137/^2  pounds  of  dyed  silk,  and  we  are  fur- 
nished with  a  bill  for  100  pounds,  20/22  ounce  weighting,  at  the  list- 
price  of  9oc.  a  pound,  making  a  total  of  $90.00. 

This  137^  pounds,  it  will  be  seen,  consists  of  80  pounds,  con- 
ditioned weight,  boiled-off  silk,  20  pounds  of  dyeing  material  that  has 
replaced  the  18  pounds  of  gum  and  the  2  pounds  of  soap  and  oil 
that  the  silk  contained  before  dyeing,  and  37^2  pounds  more  of  dyeing 
material  that  has  been  added  to  the  original  gross  weight  of  the  silk, 
making,  therefore,  a  combination  of  80  pounds  of  silk  and  57^2  pounds 
of  weighting,  etc.  This  57/^2  pounds  of  foreign  matter  is  71%  per 
cent,  of  the  80  pounds  of  conditioned  weight  boiled-off  silk,  or,  as 
otherwise  expressed,  the  silk  has  been  weighted  71%  per  cent. 

By  having  had  our  silk  tested  at  the  Conditioning  House  for  weight 
and  for  boil-off,  we  are  enabled  to  order  our  weighting  intelligently, 
with  a  view  to  getting  precisely  the  amount  of  loading  added  to  our 
fibre  that  we  desire,  and  we  can  then  know  exactly  the  percentage  of 
weighting  that  we  are  really  getting. 

We  will  next  suppose  that  another  lot  is  dyed  for  22  ounce  weight- 
ing, and  that  we  had  had  no  tests  of  it  made,  and  only  knew  that  the 
silk  was  Japan  stock,  of  a  fairly  well  regarded  mark,  and  that  it  was 
thrown  by  a  reputable  throwster,  and  that  there  was  nothing  about 
his  clearance  of  the  lot  that  was  out  of  the  common,  though  the  weight 
returned  might  even  have  been  full — what  is  commonly  referred  to 
as  a  good  clearance. 

In  this  case  we  will  assume  that  the  raw-silk  had  a  boil-off  of  21 
per  cent. ;  that  the  throwster  had  made  more  waste  than  usual,  and 
had  covered  it  up  with  a  heavy  soaking,  having  added  5  pec  cent,  to 
the  weight  in  soap  and  oil ;  and  that  the  silk  had  taken  up  a  further 
2  per  cent,  of  atmospheric  moisture.  These  added  together  give  a 
potential  loss  of  about  28  per  cent.,  and  our  100  pounds  now  consists 
of  72  pounds  of  conditioned  weight,  thrown,  boiled-off  silk,  and  28 
pounds  of  gum,  soap  and  oil,  and  excess  moisture. 

The  dyer  treats  the  silk  and  once  more  returns  to  us  137^2  pounds, 
dyed  weight.  As  only  72  pounds  of  this,  however,  is  silk,  the  re- 
maining 6$y2  pounds  is  necessarily  weighting,  and  this  represents  a 


PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS       43 

weighting  of  about  91  per  cent.,  or  over  19  per  cent,  in  excess  of  the 
weighting  of  the  other  lot,  and  which  may  seriously  imperil  the  sound- 
ness of  the  fibre. 

The  dyer,  at  the  same  time,  is  furnishing  about  14  per  cent,  more 
weighting,  for  which  he  receives  nothing. 

Of  these  matters  of  prime  importance,  many  manufacturers  are 
profoundly  ignorant,  and,  by  neglecting  to  test  their  silk,  they  pave  the 
way  for  trouble,  damage,  and  irregular  goods. 

Europe  spends  a  huge  sum  of  money  annually  in  Conditioning 
House  tests,  and  there  they  very  properly  consider  this  testing  to  be 
just  as  much  a  part  of  the  unavoidable  and  necessary  expense  of  the 
mill  as  the  fuel  for  the  boilers  or  the  salary  of  the  timekeeper  would 
be  regarded  here. 

Necessity  of  Systematic  Tests. 

When  the  constant,  regular,  and  automatic  testing  of  every  bale  of 
raw  and  thrown  silk,  used  in  this  country,  for  weight,  size,  boil-off, 
etc.,  instead  of  being  the  exception,  becomes  the  rule,  as  it  will  be  in 
the  not  distant  future,  we  will  then  be  able  to  produce  lines  of  goods 
with  little  or  no  perceptible  variation  in  the  quality  of  the  pieces,  in- 
stead of,  as  at  present,  bringing  forward  great  quantities  of  goods 
which,  in  spite  of  every  care,  will  include  from  10  to  20  per  cent,  of 
pieces  that  are  too  light  and  as  many  that  are  heavier  than  they 
should  be. 

Dyers'  Price-Lists. 

The  dyers'  price-lists  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  made  on  any  scien- 
tific basis.  The  costs  of  different,  much  used,  weightings  have  been 
ascertained  through  practice  and  fixed  at  certain  levels  by  competition, 
and  the  prices  for  other  weightings  have  been  spaced  between  them 
as  conveniently  as  possible.  In  this  way  the  price-lists  have  grown  up, 
on  the  basis  of  an  average  satisfactory  to  the  dyers. 

The  system  of  charging  by  the  "ounce,"  as  at  present  pursued,  is  a 
gross  absurdity. 

The  dyer  undertakes  to  furnish  something  of  tangible  value,  for 
which  he  should  in  all  cases  receive  a  reasonable  return  for  the  service 
rendered.  Leaving  out  the  general  expense  entailed  in  conducting  his 
business,  he  does  the  specific  work  of  degumming  the  silk,  weighting 
it,  and  coloring  it. 

If,  therefore,  the  silk  contains  a  large  amount  of  gum,  soap,  etc., 
the  time,  labor  and  expense  required  to  strip  it  will  be  greater  than 
for  a  silk  carrying  less  of  these  substances,  and  the  cost  of  bringing 
up  the  weight  will  be  largely  increased. 

Does  he  make  his  charge  proportionately  and  logically?  Not  he. 
He  weights  a  silk,  to  a  given  ounce,  that  boils-off  30  per  cent.,  at  the 
same  price  he  charges  for  a  silk  with  a  boil-off  of  20  per  cent.,  although 
in  the  former  case  he  gives  far  more  weighting  than  in  the 


44      PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS 

latter.    The  result  is  that  he  is  charging  too  little  on  the  one  silk  and 
too  much  on  the  other. 

If  he  should  demand  from  his  customer  a  higher  price  for  bringing 
up  the  weighting  of  a  silk  with  a  heavy  boil-off,  he  knows  that  his 
customer  could  easily  find  a  dyer  who  would  make  no  such  objection, 
and  so  he  continues  to  sell  his  dyeing  on  the  old  basis  for  fear  of 
losing  his  customer. 

Charging  for  Weighting  on  Percentage  Basis. 

The  only  logical  system  for  dyeing  charges  is  to  base  them  upon 
the  service  actually  rendered,  i.e.,  upon  the  specific  percentage  of 
weighting  added  to  the  conditioned,  boil-off,  weight  of  the  silk. 

If  this  were  done,  the  dyer  would  get  a  proper  return  for  his 
work  in  every  case.  As  the  customer  would  furnish  him  with  the 
Conditioned  Weight  and  Boil-off  certificates  of  the  silk,  he  would 
know  exactly  how  much  the  silk  would  lose  in  boiling-off,  and  could 
prepare  his  stripping  baths  intelligently,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the 
silk.  The  customer  could  get  exactly  the  percentage  of  weighting  that 
he  wanted  on  his  silk,  and  would  know  that  he  had  got  it  and  was  only 
paying  for  what  he  got. 

Under  such  an  arrangement  as  this,  it  would  be  very  proper  that 
the  charges  for  the  boiling-off  tests  be  divided  between  the  dyer  and 
the  manufacturer. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  the  dyers  should  afford  their  cus- 
tomers a  price-list  based  on  this  idea,  and,  with  the  facilities  offered 
to  the  trade  for  the  testing  of  silks,  by  the  Conditioning  House,  there 
should  be  little  difficulty  in  getting  many  manufacturers  to  adopt  it. 

Dyeing  Costs  Affected  by  Boil-offs. 

The  seriousness  of  this  matter  will  be  better  appreciated  when  it' 
is  considered  how  greatly  the  percentage  of  the  weighting  on  the  silk 
is  affected  by  its  boil-off,  and  how  the  material,  in  case  of  a  heavy 
boil-off,  may  be  grossly  overweighted  without  the  manufacturer  hav- 
ing the  least  idea  of  it.  In  fact,  he  can  know  nothing  of  the  weight- 
ing he  is  getting  on  his  silk  unless  he  has  the  thrown  silk  tested  for 
conditioned  weight  and  for  boil-off. 

To  present  this  in  a  clearer  light  I  have  prepared  the  following 
table  covering  weightings  from  14  oz.  to  60  oz.  and  boil-off s  from 
20  per  cent,  to  30  per  cent.  Observe  how,  on  only  a  16  oz.  weighting, 
the  percentage  of  tin  on  the  silk  may  run  up  to  43  per  cent.,  when 
the  boil-off  is  30  per  cent. — a  not  unusual  occurrence — while  with  a 
20  per  cent,  boil-off  it  is  but  25  per  cent.  On  the  60  oz.  weighting, 
the  increase  under  the  same  circumstances  is  67  per  cent. 

This  table  merits  careful  consideration. 


PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS       45 


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46      PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS 

How  the  Dyer  may  be  Mulcted. 

Under  the  present  system  the  dyer  is,  in  a  measure,  at  the  mercy 
of  his  customer  in  regard  to  the  dye-stuff  he  has  to  furnish  at  a  given 
price.  As  his  prices  are  not  based  upon  the  conditioned,  boiled-off, 
weight  of  the  silk  he  is  treating,  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  an  un- 
scrupulous customer  from  artificially  altering  the  weight  of  the  silk 
he  sends  him,  if  it  is  for  his  advantage  to  do  so. 

This  can  be  done  by  instructing  the  throwster  to  increase  the  weight 
of  the  lot  by  the  addition  of  extra  soap  and  oil,  or  by  moistening  the 
silk,  or  in  both  of  these  ways. 

If  sufficient  weight  is  added  to  the  thrown  silk,  so  that  the  per- 
centage of  weighting  wanted  on  the  fibre  will  then  be  had  from  a 
weighting  of  a  nominally  less  number  of  ounces,  the  manufacturer  will 
make  a  material  saving. 

To  show  how  the  dyers  may  be  taken  advantage  of  by  those  who 
wish  to  increase  their  profits  by  the  free  use  of  the  soap  bath  and  the 
watering  pot,  I  have  prepared  the  following  table  to  illustrate  how 
this  works  out  in  practice. 

One  hundred  pound  lots  are  figured  on,  and,  at  the  artificially  in- 
creased weights,  the  percentage  of  weighting  added  to  the  conditioned- 
weight,  boiled-off  silk,,  for  the  lower  weight  dye  orders,  will  be  found 
to  exactly  equal  the  weighting  got  from  the  original  amount  of  silk 
at  the  higher  weight  dye  order.  At  the  same  time,  the  larger  number 
of  pounds  at  the  lower  price  will  cost  the  manufacturer  distinctly  less 
money  than  the  less  number  of  pounds  at  the  higher  price.  This  table 
is  not  affected  by  differences  in  the  original  boil-off  of  the  thrown  silk. 

In  the  medium  weighting  also,  by  a  freer  use  of  the  watering  can, 
a  sufficient  addition  might  be  made  so  that  two  weightings  lower  could 
be  managed. 

The  writer  does  not  advocate  the  use  of  any  such  questionable 
methods,  but  has  presented  these  phases  of  the  matter  to  show  the 
necessity  of  a  change  in  the  basis  on  which  weightings  are  charged  for. 

It  may  be  objected  that  the  dyer  would  complain  if  the  boil-off  of 
a  lot  seemed  unusually  large.  He  might,  and  for  that  matter  he 
often  does  complain  as  it  is,  but,  just  the  same,  he  takes  the  order  and 
dyes  the  silk  to  the  weighting  demanded. 

Both  dyer  and  customer,  working  as  they  now  do  in  the  dark,  have 
no  solid  basis  for  valuing  the  work  that  is  done  on  the  silk  and  the 
price  that  should  be  charged  for  it. 


PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS       47 


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48      PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS 


Variation  of  Boil-offs. 

Boil-offs  differ  widely.  The  averages  of  the  Lyons  Conditioning 
House  reports  will  show  that  Japans  lose  18  per  cent. — most  of  the 
tests  running  say  from  17  to  19  per  cent. ;  Chinas  about  19  per  cent.— 
say  1 8  to  20  per  cent;  Cantons  22  per  cent. — say  21  to  23  per  cent.; 
and  Yellow  Italian  and  Cevenues  silks  about  24  per  cent. — say  23  to  25 
per  cent.  Many  lots  of  each  kind  will  have  a  boil-off  off  several  per 
cent,  more  or  less  than  the  above  averages,  which,  of  course,  represent 
the  bulk  of  the  tests  recorded. 

The  soap  and  oil  added  by  the  throwster  is  also  a  very  variable 
quantity — being  generally  larger  than  it  is  supposed  to  be.  Good 
quality  silks  with  free  gums  need  only  a  light  soaking  and  could  be 
readily  worked  with  a  solution  that  would  return  an  increase  of  but 
i  per  cent.,  though  2  per  cent,  would  be  a  normal  low  average.  On 
the  other  hand,  with  hard  gums  a  heavier  bath  may  be  required,  and, 
if  excessive  wastage  is  to  be  covered  up,  any  amount  may  be  added, 
and  additions  of  5  to  8  per  cent,  are  not  uncommon. 

Then,  again,  the  silk  will  take  up  moisture  from  the  atmosphere 
if  the  weather,  or  the  place  of  storage,  be  damp,  and  it  may  readily 
gain  as  much  as  3  per  cent,  in  this  way. 

Differences  Between  Lots. 

It  is,  therefore,  apparent  that  wide  variations  may  exist  in  practice 
without  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturer  to  influence  the 
weight. 

Thus,  one  lot  of  Italian  silk  might  have  a  boil-off  of  but  21  per 
cent. ;  it  might  have  had  only  I  per  cent,  of  soap  and  oil  added  to  it 
in  the  soaking,  and  it  might  have  been  stored  in  a  properly  dry  place 
so  that  its  weight  was  practically  the  same  as  conditioned  weight, 
and  its  boil-off,  therefore,  would  be  only  about  22  per  cent. 

Another  lot  might  boil-off  in  the  raw  27  per  cent. ;  it  might  have 
had  5  per  cent,  of  soap  and  oil  added  to  it  in  the  soaking;  it  might 
also  have  taken  up  3  per  cent,  of  moisture  from  the  air.  These  amounts 
will  aggregate  a  shrinkage  in  boiling-off  and  conditioning  of  approxi- 
mately 35  per  cent. 

Here,  then,  is  a  difference  between  two  lots  of  silks,  of  the  same 
nature,  of  13  per  cent. ;  and  a  manufacturer,  knowing  the  raw  boil-off 
of  his  silk,  could  readily  arrange  to  have  the  throwster  add  whatever 
soap,  oil,  and  water  seemed  to  suit  the  requirements  of  the  case.  As 
these  additions  could  be  arranged  so  as  to  keep  the  boil-off  within  the 
extreme  limit  of  practice,  the  dyer  would  have  no  proof  that  he  had 
been  finessed  against. 


PERCENTAGES.  AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS       49 


Judging  from  the  complaints,  voiced  now  and  then  by  dyers,  about 
huge  boil-offs,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  some  manufacturers  have 
already  been  clever  enough  to  practice  this  fattening-up  of  the  silk. 

How  the  Watering^  an  Affects  Costs. 

The  manner  in  which  the  percentage  of  weighting,  and  the  cost  of 
same  to  the  customer,  may  be  affected  by  increased  moisture  in  the 
silk,  is  shown  in  a  most  illuminating  manner  on  Pages  24-25  of  a 
book  entitled  "The  Value  of  Conditioning,"  published  by  the  United 
States  Conditioning  and  Testing  Company,  under  the  heading  of 
"Value  of  Tests  in  Dyeing." 

This  example  takes  three  lots  of  silk,  one  of  100  pounds  Conditioned 
Weight  having  a  20  per  cent,  boil-off,  another  of  the  same  amount 
with  3  pounds  of  water  added — making  103  pounds,  and  another  with 
5  pounds  of  added  water — making  105  pounds.  These  are  figured  out 
in  pure  dye,  and  in  16,  24,  32  and  48  oz.  weightings. 

The  results  obtained  are  so  interesting  that  I  make  no  apology  for 
reproducing  here,  in  full,  the  section  referred  to: 

"VALUE  OF  BOIL-OFF  TESTS  IN  DYEING. 

Few  manufacturers  realize  what  an  important  difference  may  result 
in  the  cost  of  their  dyeing,  and  in  the  percentage  of  their  weighting, 
from  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  Boil-off  of  their  Thrown  Silk. 

We  invite  careful  attention  to  the  following : 

BOIL-OFF  IN  DYEING.  Showing  that  variations  may  result  in 
practice  if  Conditioned  Weight,  and  Boil-off  Thrown  certificates  are 
not  used  as  the  basis  of  computation. 

The  following  illustrations  are  all  based  on  100  Ibs.  of  Conditioned 
Weight  Thrown  Silk.  The  Boil-off  in  each  of  these  cases  being  20%, 
leaves  80  pounds  of  Conditioned  Weight  Boiled-off  Thrown  Silk. 

The  loo  pounds  Conditioned  Weight  is  supposed  to  weigh  103  and 
105  pounds,  scale  or  ticket  weight,  for  the  purpose  of  this  illustration. 
The  cost  of  Dyeing  and  the  returns  are  shown  for 

I.  Pure  dye  at  3<Dc.  per  pound. 

II.  16  oz.  dye  at  5<Dc.  per  pound. 

III.  24  oz.   dye   at  8oc.   per  pound. 

IV.  32  oz.  dye  at  $1.00  per  pound. 
V.  48  oz.  dye  at  $1.50  per  pound. 

I.     Pure  Dye  at  3oc.  per  pound. 

105  Ibs.  at  3oc $3i-50 

103    "    "      "     30-90 

100    "    "      "  (Conditioned  Weight)  ...  30.00 

Conditioned  Weight  saves  $1.50 

80  Ibs.  of  Boiled-off  Silk  Dyed.    Saving  5%. 


50      PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS 

II.     16  oz.  Dye  at  500.  per  pound. 

Silk         Weighting  Return  Bill 

A.  105  Ibs.  at  500 80  -f-       25       =  105  $52.50 

B.  103    """....     80  +       23  103  51.50 

C.  100   "     "      "    80  +       20      =  loo  50.00 

5  Ibs.  weight  gained  on  A.  for  $2.50  =  500.  per  Ib.  no  saving. 
3  Ibs.  weight  gained  on  B.  for  $1.50  =  500.  per  Ib.  no  saving. 

III.  24  oz.  Dye  at  8oc.  per  pound. 

Silk        Weighting  Return  Bill 

A.  105  Ibs.  at  8oc 80  -f-       77^  —  157^2  $84.00 

B.  103    """....     80  +       74^  =  154^  82.40 

C.  100   "     "     "    ....     80  +      70      =  150  80.00 

7^  Ibs.  gain  on  A.  for  $4.00  saves  $2.00  =  2.y2  %  on  dyeing. 

4l/2  Ibs.  gain  on  B.  for  $2.40  saves  $1.20  =  ij^%  on  dyeing. 
%  Weighting  on  original  80  Ibs.  silk,  A — 96.8% 
%  Weighting  on  original  80  Ibs.  silk,  B — 93.1% 
%  Weighting  on  original  80  Ibs.  silk,  C — 87.5% 

IV.  32.  oz.  Dye  at  $1.00  per  pound. 

Silk        Weighting  Return        Bill 

A.  105  Ibs.  at  $1.00...     80  -f-     130       =  210      $105.00 

B.  103    """...     80  +126      =  206        103.00 

C.  100   "     "     "      ...     80  +     120      ==  200        100.00 

10  Ibs.  gain  on  A.  for  $5.00  saves  $5.00  —  5%  on  dyeing. 
6  Ibs.  gain  on  B.  for  $3.00  saves  $3.00  =  3%  on  dyeing. 
%  Weighting  on  original  80  Ibs.  silk,  A — 1623/2% 
%  Weighting  on  original  80  Ibs.  silk,  B — 157^  % 
%  Weighting  on  original  80  Ibs.  silk,  C — 150% 


PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS       51 

V.     48  oz.  Dye  at  $1.50  per  pound. 

Silk        Weighting  Return        Bill 

A.  105  Ibs.  at  $1.50...     80  -f     235       ==  315       $157.00 

B.  103    "      "      "      ...     80  +     229       =  309         154-50 

C.  loo  "     "      "       ...     80  -|-     220      ==  300        150.00 

15  Ibs.  gain  on  A.  for  $7.50  saves  $15.00  =  10%  on  dyeing. 
9  Ibs.  gain  on  B.  for  $4.50  saves    $9.00  =  6%  on  dyeing. 
%  Weighting  on  original  80  Ibs.  silk,  A — 293%%. 
%  Weighting  on  original  80  Ibs.  silk,  B — 286^4%. 
%  Weighting  on  original  80  Ibs.  silk,  C — 275%. 

Therefore : 

So  long  as  the  price  of  dyeing  is  based  on  ticket  bundle  or  actual 
weight,  the  manufacturer  will,  as  illustrated,  find  it  profitable  to  arrange 
that 

I.     All  silk  of  1 6  oz.  dye  and  under  should  be  soaked  lightly  in 

throwing  and   kept   very   dry. 
II.     All  silk  for  16  oz.  dye  and  over  should  be  soaked  heavily  in 

throwing  and  kept  moist. 

To  know  the  real  return,  however,  the  Conditioned  Weight  Boiled- 
off  Thrown  Silk  must  be  used  as  the  basis  of  figuring  or  your  silk  may 
be  overweighted  10%  or  more  without  your  being  aware  of  it." 

Figuring  the  Waste  Made  in  Throwing. 

When  figuring  the  clearance  on  a  lot  of  thrown  silk,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  what  loss  has  been  made  in  throwing,  care  should 
be  taken  to  see  that  the  proper  method  is  employed. 

Some  will  figure  this  by  taking  the  differences  in  the  percentages  of 
boil-offs,  and  then  applying  this  to  the  weight  of  the  raw  or  thrown 
silk  with,  of  course,  an  erroneous  result. 

The  only  right  way  to  pursue  is  the  one  followed  by  the  Condition- 
ing Houses.  In  this  the  weight  of  the  conditioned,  boiled-off,  thrown 
silk  is  subtracted  from  the  weight  of  the  conditioned,  boiled-off  raw- 
silk,  and  the  relation  that  this  difference  bears  to  the  weight  of  the 
latter  shows  the  percentage  of  the  loss  made. 

No  silk  manufacturer,  large  or  small,  who  wishes  to  know  as  ex- 
actly as  possible  what  his  goods  cost  him,  and  who  does  not  desire 
to  waste  large  sums  of  money  annually,  can  afford  to  neglect  the  sub- 
jecting of  all  his  silk  to  regular  and  comprehensive  tests. 


52       PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS 

Scientific,  and  Unscientific,  Tests. 

Owing  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  silk,  its  elasticity,  variations  in 
size  and  in  the  proportions  of  gum  that  it  contains,  and  its  capacity 
for  absorbing  moisture,  it  requires  the  finest  equipment  and  the  greatest 
knowledge,  precision,  and  care  in  the  making  of  these  tests,  if  they 
are  to  have  any  value  at  all.  What  may  be  termed  "home  made  tests," 
which  so  many  people  rely  on,  are  generally  worse  than  useless  for  they 
only  mislead. 

It  is  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  accurate  tests,  made  on  a  scien- 
tific basis  and  under  exact  and  constant  conditions,  that  testing  estab- 
lishments, or  Conditioning  Houses,  as  they  are  called,  for  silks  and 
all  other  textile  materials,  have  been  established  in  various  textile 
centres  throughout  the  world,  and  American  manufacturers  are  for- 
tunate in  having  at  their  service  the  excellent  Conditioning  House  that 
exists  in  New  York. 

Owing  to  unfamiliarity  with  the  technique  of  the  subject,  it  often 
happens  that  manufacturers,  who  are  induced  to  start  making  tests, 
do  not  know  how  to  make  use  of  the  information  that  the  condition- 
ing tickets  give  them ;  in  fact,  they  too  often  have  hardly  any  idea  at 
all  of  the  meaning  of  the  figures. 

Others,  again,  make  their  tests  in  a  random  manner,  spending,  per- 
haps, quite  a  sum  of  money,  but  getting  no  complete  information  about 
any  one  lot  of  silk,  and  so  losing,  in  great  part,  the  value  of  the  in- 
formation paid  for. 

The  Value  of  Conditioning. 

To  give  the  most  thorough  insight  into  the  principles  and  methods 
of  testing  silk,  and  to  show  how  the  information  obtained  should  be 
applied  in  practice,  the  book,  already  referred  to,  entitled  "The  Value 
of  Conditioning,"  was  published  in  1908  by  the  United  States  Silk 
Conditioning  Company,  whose  name  has  since  been  changed  to  the 
"United  States  Conditioning  and  Testing  Company,"  the  present  writer 
being  the  author  of  a  very  substantial  portion  of  this  book. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  every  manufacturer,  after  a  careful  reading 
of  this  work,  will  have  a  keener  appreciation  of  how  seriously  this 
subject  affects  his  pocket. 

The  ''Combination  Test." 

For  the  purpose  of  encouraging  manufacturers  to  order  their  tests 
in  a  comprehensive  manner,  there  has  also  been  devised  what  is  called 
the  "Combination  Test,"  in  which  groups  of  bales  are  tested  for  varia- 
tion in  size  and  average  size,  conditioned  weight  raw  and  thrown, 
and  boil-off  raw  and  thrown. 

The  information  so  arrived  at  shows,  by  the  conditioning  of  the 


PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS       53 

raw-silk,  just  what  weight  the  manufacturer  should  pay  for,  and  the 
weight  upon  which  the  throwster  should  base  his  charges;  by  sizing 
tests,  it  shows  the  yardage  per  pound  of  the  raw-silk  and  its  limits  of 
variation  in  size;  by  giving  the  conditioned  weight  of  the  silk  after 
throwing  it  shews  what  percentage  of  its  weight  is  water,  and, 
by  boil-ofT  tests,  it  shows  the  amount  of  gum  in  the  raw-silk  and  the 
amount  of  gum,  soap,  etc.,  in  the  thrown  silk,  so  that,  by  figuring  these 
percentages  from  the  raw  and  thrown  conditioned  weights,  the  exact 
loss  made  in  the  throwing  can  be  arrived  at.  By  the  knowledge  of  the 
boil-off  of  the  thrown  silk,  the  manufacturer  can  also  tell  exactly  what 
percentage  of  weighting  to  order,  so  that  the  amount  of  weighting  on 
his  fibre  will  be  no  more  and  no  less  than  he  desires. 

Without  this  knowledge  he  is  in  the  dark.  Thus,  if  he  sent  three 
lots  of  silk  to  the  dyer  to  be  weighted  to  30  oz.,  intending  to  use  them 
in  the  same  line  of  goods,  he  would,  if  the  lots  boiled  off  20,  25,  and 
30  per  cent,  respectively,  have  his  fibre  in  turn  weighted  134  per  cent, 
150  per  cent.,  and  168  per  cent.,  and,  apart  from  the  risk  of  overweight- 
ing, as  the  weighting  material  does  not  bulk  up  as  the  silk  does,  he 
would  necessary  have  irregular  groups  of  goods. 

If,  however,  he  knew  the  boil-off  of  these  three  lots,  and  was  or- 
dering his  weightings  by  the  prevailing  "ounce"  system,  he  would 
order  the  20  per  cent,  boil-off  lot  dyed  in  32  oz.,  the  25  per  cent  in  30 
oz.,  and  the  30  per  cent,  in  28  oz.,  and  in  each  case  he  would  have 
the  same  percentage  of  weighting,  namely  150  per  cent.,  on  the  fibre, 
as  may  be  seen  by  the  foregoing  table,  and  his  merchandise  would  be 
correspondingly  regular. 

Forms  Used  in  Connection  with  Tests. 

With  the  object  of  simplifying  the  recording  and  working  out  of 
the  information  given  by  the  "Combination  Tests,"  the  United  States 
Conditioning  and  Testing  Company  has  devised  a  loose-leaf  ledger, 
into  which  all  of  the  information  for  each  lot  can  be  entered,  and  into 
which  can  also  be  inserted  the  various  documents  pertaining  to  the 
lot,  such  as  the  duplicate  invoice  of  the  raw-silk,  the  chop  ticket,  the 
throwster's  report  and  clearance,  the  Conditioning,  Sizing,  and  Boiling- 
off  certificates,  etc. 

All  of  the  details  of  a  lot  are  shewn  on  the  two  sides  of  one  leaf, 
and,  when  a  lot  is  all  worked  up,  its  leaf,  cogether  with  its  documents, 
is  removed  from  the  book  and  filed  away. 

By  this  means,  all  of  the  information  about  each  lot  is  concentrated 
in  the  same  place,  where  it  can  be  instantly  referred  to,  and  anything 
that  is  out  of  the  usual  can  be  at  once  detected. 

Copies  of  these  forms  are  presented  herewith : 


54      PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS 


ALL   THIS   INFORMATION    IS   NECESSARY    FOR   INTELLIGENT   USE   OF    EACH    LOT 

SILK  LOT  COMBINATION  TEST  RECORD 

Lot  No  7*3 ^ 

Conditioning  Tickets  Filed_*^V!£«r*  ~~  <Sfanr*si^j!-*~J  ±. 


Invoice  Filed  «y»"v3    — 
Throwster's  Report  \sj^<ns:  //  — 

Chop   Fil 


.Quality 


Chop  < 


rage  Deniers.    From    y 
.    Weight  Terms^gfci-^.  ^^ 


*£ 


/33.^-f 


/fo 


7-,? 


'3t2S 


l&QJe 


Add  2%  to  Conditioned  Weight. 
Lbs.   to  b«   charged,    Limit 


71 


Boil  Off  Raw      /&,  V^       %      Boil  Off  Thrown       2.  g..  f^^        %      Difference_c£l-5e___%* 
Average.  Regular  Siiing       /^,  ^-  Z.       ,  deniers.     Average.  Compound  Siting      SJ+*O<.  deniars. 

THROWN    RETURN 

NOTE— ALWAYS  INSTRUCT  THROWSTER.  WHEN  RETURNING  SILK.  TO  PACK  IN  SAME  NUMBER  OF  BALES  AS  HE  RECEIVES. 


/Oi. 


vToX. 


2.7- 


La(.  za. 


2.Z.  S3*    72. 


Mailt  »nJ  Jor  i«le  by  U    S.  Silk  Conditioning  Co..  tnd  by  W.  F.  Vaodtn  Houten  Co .,  «0<i  Pt»rl  St.,  Ntw  York. OVIH 

FRONT  SIDE  OF  PAGE  FROM  LOOSE  LEAF  RECORD  BOOK. 


PERCENTAGES    AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS       55 


Al 

SILJ 

Estim 
Estim 

Deduc 
result  is  A 

Lot  No 

Total 
Boil  Off 
t 

Total  C 
Boil  Off  ' 
t 

Difference 

.U   THIS    INFORMA1 

C   LOT  C 

ated  yds.  to  Ib.  Raw 
ated  yds.  to  Ib  Thro 

t  from   Raw  yds  to  Ib   3 
PPROXIMATE  yds 

ION    IS    NECESSARY    FOR    INT 

OMBINATION 

\3  J  '~7  vf-3  9                      nn 

ELLIGENT    USE    OF 

TEST   F 

Compound  Sizing. 
Skeins  returned,  in  te 

c«  in  %  of  Boil  Cff  Thro 
rown,  figured  from  avera 

E 

EACH    LOT 

(ECORD 

rms  of  single  thread. 

wn  and   Boi    Off    Raw 
je  bund  e  weight. 

wn  J  /  4*  &>pJL  on 

(  for  shortening  in  "i  wist  plus  differen 
per  Ib.  which  should  be  returned  Th 

OLE  ARANC 

aw             &  £  £.-3f  Ibs. 
///Xj7    IK. 

DYEING 

ON  25%  BOIL  OFF 
COOUS  12  OZ.  NET  S1LS 

Dondit  oned  Weight  f 
Raw  /^t^L% 
Jet  Boiled  Off  Raw 

onditioned  Weight  J\ 
fhrnwn  2  2-.  {£.    % 

Jet  Boilec  Off  Throv 
ivided  by  Nat  Boiled  Of 

U  OZ 
16    " 

18    " 
20    " 
22    " 
24   " 
26    " 
28    " 
30   " 
32    " 
34    " 
36    " 
38    " 
40    " 
42    " 

=  3 
=   5 

l*%  i 

g^zzir 

=100  V°     5 

=  133^4%    = 
=150     %    S 

=  1S3'A%'    S 
=200     %    5 
=216*$%     8 

=250     % 

y^rvT^-c?      ,ht 

n        \f~3<>.  7i     ib« 

Di 

*.»-,.        i3.^«P     is. 

f  Raw  equals  Loss  m  <  &r  3  *  /• 

ENTER    FOR    EACH    DYE    LOT 

Figure  Order  for  Dyeing  by  %  on  Conditioned  We.ght  Boiled  Off  Thrown  Silk. 

Bo  >.  id  OH 

%Dy. 

R.,um0y.d. 

Number  of 

T.,0^,.,-. 

Boifcd  0« 

%0y. 

OiJ.'.d 

R.tufn  Dyed. 

N"™^8' 

REMARKS.—  On  working  of  Silk  in  actual   ute 
Made  .and  for  tale  br  U.  S.  Silk  Conditioning  Co...  and  br  W.  F.  Vandtn  Houten  Co..  *0»  Peart  St.,  N«*  York. 

REVERSE  SIDE  OF  PAGE  FROM  LOOSE  LEAF  RECORD  BOOK. 


56      PERCENTAGES   AND    COSTS    OF    WEIGHTINGS 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  such  a  record  as  this  can  be  kept  by 
any  intelligent  clerk,  and  so  the  time  of  his  principals  need  not  be  taken 
up  in  working  out  the  results. 

They  can  see  by  a  glance  at  the  salient  points — the  limit  of  weight 
that  should  be  charged  for  as  compared  with  the  invoice  weight,  the 
boil-offs  raw  and  thrown,  the  regular  and  compound  sizings,  and  the 
loss  shown  by  the  throwing  clearance — whether  all  appears  to  be  right, 
or  if  some  point  needs  investigation. 

The  form  accommodates  20  bales  of  raw-silk,  as  this  is  the  limit  to 
which  any  one  Combination  Test  is  applied,  and  the  figures  here  given 
are  taken  from,  actual  practice. 


VI 


COTTON  YARNS,  AND  THEIR  USE  IN  SILK 
MANUFACTURE 


Almost  all  silk  manufacturers,  from  time  to  time,  have  to  make 
use  of  cotton  yarns,  and  frequently  these  uses  are  on  an  extensive  scale. 

To  make  a  proper  selection  of  this  material,  when  it  is  required,  is 
a  necessity,  if  the  goods  made  from  it  are  to  be  right  in  quality  and 
in  price,  and  yet  it  is  a  matter  to  which,  in  many  cases,  but  slight 
attention  is  paid  by  those  who  use  it. 

As  but  few  silk  manufacturers  have  had  any  training  along  cotton 
lines,  they  have,  of  course,  when  purchasing  cotton  yarns,  to  put  them- 
selves very  largely  into  the  hands  of  those  from  whom  they  make  their 
purchases,  generally  yarn  agents,  or  brokers,  who  cater  to  the  silk 
trade. 

Value  of  the  Yarn  Dealer's  Advice. 

Beyond  the  fact  that  fairly  stiff  prices  may  sometimes  have  to  be 
paid,  this  does  not,  on  the  whole,  work  badly,  as  these  yarn  dealers 
understand  very  well  about  what  sorts  of  yarns  are  generally  required 
for  certain  kinds  of  goods,  and  are  thus  in  a  position  to  advise  their 
clients  intelligently,  that  is,  if  their  clients  are  not  above  taking  advice, 
as  is  the  case  with  many  of  them. 

Others,  again,  are  so  secretive,  that  their  dealer  is  left  quite  in 
the  dark  as  to  the  purpose  for  which  the  yarn  is  needed,  and  the  manu- 
facturer will  often  load  himself  with  a  lot  of  unsuitable  yarn  which 
his  dealer  could  easily  have  saved  him  from  buying  had  he  been 
consulted. 

Such  persons  deserve  to  suffer  the  losses  that  are  thus  entailed,  for 
the  selecting  of  yarns  is  a  technical  matter,  requiring  judgment  and 
experience,  and  when  those  without  the  necessary  knowledge  have 


58          COTTON    YARNS   IN   SILK   MANUFACTURE 

got  to  do  the  purchasing,  and  refuse  to  confide  in  an  experienced  and 
trustworthy  dealer,  they  are  inviting  any  loss  that  may  fall  upon  them. 

At  times,  questions  will  arise  that  are  of  importance,  and  yet  many 
silk  manufacturers,  owing  to  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  cotton-spinning 
trade,  may  be  very  much  at  sea  regarding  them. 

It  is  with  reference  to  some  of  these  moot  points  that  this  article 
will  concern  itself. 

Proper  Yardage  Per  Pound. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  yardage  per  pound,  for  any  given  count, 
that  the  buyer  has  a  right  to  demand  from  the  seller — a  question  that 
directly  affects  the  cost  of  his  goods. 

It  is  manifestly  impossible  for  a  spinner  always  to  spin  exactly 
to  count,  and,  as  the  thread  runs  a  little  finer  or  coarser,  a  number  of 
tests  on  the  same  lot  will  show  varying  sizes. 

Irregularities  in  size  will  be  more  numerous  in  the  single  yarns 
than  in  two  or  more  ply,  as,  by  joining  a  number  of  threads,  it  tends 
to  equalize  the  size. 

The  thickness  of  a  two-ply  yarn  will  not  necessarily  be  just  twice 
that  of  the  single,  but  will  be  markedly  affected  by  the  twisting  it 
receives. 

Twists  Employed  in  Cotton  Spinning. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  cotton  yarns  are  spun  into  regular  warp  and 
filling  twists,  and  there  is  also  a  good  deal  used  of  extra-hard  warp 
yarn,  as  well  as  a  large  volume  of  hosiery  twist,  which  is  very  soft. 

A  standard  number  of  turns  of  twist  is  generally  given,  both  for 
single  and  for  ply  yarns,  according  to  the  count,  and,  of  course,  in 
selecting  cotton  for  any  yarn,  the  length  of  its  staple  must  be  well 
considered. 

The  regular  twist  put  into  single  cotton  yarns  is  4  times  the  square 
root  of  the  count. 

Some  twists  are  what  are  known  as  "balanced,"  as  when  a  yarn 
has,  say,  twelve  turns  of  twist  in  the  single  and  twelve  turns  in  the 
two-ply.  The  effect  of  the  second-time  twisting  is  to  untwist  the  turns 
put  in  during  the  first  twisting,  so  in  a  balanced  twist  all  of  the 
twist  is  supposed  to  have  been  eliminated  from  the  single  yarn. 

How  Twists  Affect  the  Length. 

This  untwisting  of  the  single  leads  to  a  lengthening  of  the  two-ply 
yarn  beyond  what  the  single  would  count,  but  after  the  maximum  of 
lengthening  has  taken  place  a  shortening  begins,  becoming  more  ac- 
centuated as  the  twist  increases,  and  rising  to  a  large  perecent- 
age  in  the  case  of  hard-twist  yarn./ 

The  table  presented  herewith  was  published  some  years  ago  by  the 
"Textile  World  Record,"  of  Boston,  having  been  copied  from  a  Ger- 
man paper. 


COTTON    YARNS   IN   SILK   MANUFACTURE          59 

It  shows  in  graphic  form  how  the  count  is  affected  by  the  twist, 
and  a  line  drawn  from  one  corner  to  the  other,  practically  crosses  each 
count  at  the  twist  which  gives  the  standard  84O-yard  length. 

TABLE  SHOWING  HOW  THE  COUNTS  OF  2-PLY  COTTON  YARNS 
ARE  AFFECTED  BY  THE  SECOND  TIME  TWISTING,  THE 
LENGTHS  OF  THE  SKEINS  IN  THE  SINGLE  BEING  840  YARDS. 


30 


TURNS  PER  INCH  —  SECOND  JTIME  TWIST.   MEASUREMENTS  IN  YARDS. 

Count 
in 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

20 

22 

24 

26 

28 

Singles. 

12... 

.840 

832 

825 

817 

810 

800 

790 

14... 

.843 

838 

833 

824 

815 

806 

798 

773 

16... 

.848 

843 

838 

831 

823 

816 

809 

787 

772 

18... 

.856 

850 

843 

836 

830 

822 

814 

805 

796 

763 

20... 

.862 

855 

848 

841 

835 

833 

828 

822 

816 

786 

761 

22... 

.862 

858 

852 

846 

840 

837 

835 

829 

823 

800 

775 

24... 

.863 

860 

856 

852 

846 

840 

837 

832 

829 

809 

790 

26... 

.863 

862 

859 

856 

850 

846 

840 

836 

831 

816 

802 

28... 

.864 

863 

861 

858 

856 

849 

843 

840 

836 

824 

812 

30... 

.865 

864 

862 

860 

857 

852 

847 

843 

839 

831 

822 

32... 

.866 

865 

863 

861 

859 

855 

850 

845 

841 

835 

830 

34... 

.  .  .  . 

866 

864 

862 

860 

857 

853 

848 

844 

840 

836 

36... 

.  .  .  . 

... 

865 

863 

861 

859 

855 

849 

846 

843 

840 

38 

864 

862 

860 

857 

853 

849 

845 

842 

40 

863 

861 

858 

854 

850 

846 

843 

752 
769 
788 
801 
813 
826 
833 
837 
839 
840 

If  two  single  threads  are  doubled  and  twisted  in  the  same  direction 
as  the  twist  of  the  single,  the  resultant  ply  yarn  becomes  brittle  and 
shrinks  in  length. 

Thus,  if  two  84O-yard  hanks  of  1/32  are  doubled,  and  given  18  turns 
reverse  twist,  the  length  is  increased  to  855  yards.  If  twisted  in  the 
same  direction  as  the  singles,  the  length  would  shrink  to  720  yards. 

The  yarn  from  which  the  above  table  was  worked  out  was  made 
from  first  quality  American  cotton,  i^-inch  staple,  and  was  spun  on 
ring  frames.  The  number  of  turns  of  twist  in  the  single  yarns  was 
four  times  the  square  root  of  the  count.  Yarn  was  spooled  for  twisting, 
and  was  twisted  dry. 

When  a  spinner  starts  to  fill  an  order  for  a  stated  size  of  two-ply 
yarn,  he  will,  therefore,  spin  his  single  threads  to  a  count  that,  when 
doubled  and  twisted  to  the  twist  ordered,  will  give  him  the  yardage  per 
pound  demanded  by  the  count.  Thus,  for  a  2/40*5  yarn,  his  singles 
may  have  to  be  spun  to  38*8  in  one  case,  to  40*5  in  another,  and  to  42*5 
in  a  third,  according  to  the  twist,  so  that  the  finished  yarn  will  measure 
20  times  840  yards  per  pound. 


60          COTTON    YARNS   IN   SILK   MANUFACTURE 

Yarns  for  Moires,  and  Reverse  Twists. 

For  use  in  fabrics  that  are  to  be  subjected  to  the  moireing  process, 
hard,  well  rounded,  threads  are  desirable,  and  three,  or  more,  ply  yarns 
are  consequently  used  for  this  purpose.  It  is  the  fashion  to  use  reverse 
twists  in  these  yarns,  though  for  what  good  reason  is  not  clear  to  the 
writer,  as,  in  practise,  no  difference  is  apparent. 

The  probable  explanation  of  this  custom  may  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  when  cotton  yarns  for  moire  purposes  were  first  called  for  largely 
by  the  American  silk  trade,  they  were  wanted  in  a  hurry,  as  is  usually 
the  case  with  yarns  for  moires.  These  special  twists  were  not  to  be  had 
offhand  from  the  yarn  spinners,  but  there  was  at  the  time  a  lot  of  suit- 
able thread  yarn  in  the  market,  and  thread  yarns  are  made  with  reverse 
twist,  for  special  reasons.  Thus,  the  ball  was  started  rolling,  and,  as 
the  yarns  proved  to  be  all  right,  re-orders  have  been  coming  in  right 
along  on  the  "same-as-last"  basis,  and  so  the  custom  has  fastened  itself 
on  the  trade,  while  the  ignorance  of  most  silk  manufacturers  regarding 
cottons  has  made  them  afraid  to  change,  and  has  caused  them  to  keep 
on  demanding  this  reverse  twist. 

Testing  the  Counts  of  the  Yarns. 

To  determine  the  count  of  any  yarn  delivered  to  them,  manufactur- 
ers can  make  fairly  satisfactory  working  tests  if  they  are  equipped  with 
accurate  reels  and  scales,  and  if  the  tests  are  made  by  an  intelligent  and 
experienced  man. 

A  number  of  representative  samples  should  be  taken,  and  a  number 
of  reelings  and  weighings  from  each  should  be  made  with  much  care 
and  accuracy,  and  such  tests  should  be  made  either  at  a  time  or  in  a 
place  when  the  atmospheric  conditions  are  normal.  Care  should  also 
be  taken  to  see  whether  the  yarn  has  been  stored  in  an  unduly  dry  or 
unduly  damp  place,  and,  in  either  event,  or  in  case  nothing  is  known 
on  the  subject,  the  skeins  drawn  for  testing  should  be  hung  up  for  a 
few  hours  in  some  place  where  the  humidity  was  normal,  to  give  them 
a  chance  to  return  to  their  natural  condition. 

If  the  tests  are  sufficiently  numerous,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
lot,  and  the  foregoing  precautions  are  carried  out,  the  average  size 
arrived  at  should  be  fairly  accurate. 

Should  really  exact  tests  for  weight  or  for  size  be  needed,  either  as 
a  basis  of  sale  or  purchase,  or  for  establishing  a  case  before  a  court  or 
an  arbitration  committee,  the  services  of  a  testing  or  conditioning  house 
should  always  be  secured,  and,  by  having  the  tests  made  on  a  standard 
conditioned  weight  basis,  the  variations  caused  by  moisture  are  elimi- 
nated. 

In  the  reeling  of  the  skeins  for  testing,  great  care  should  be  taken 
to  see  that  only  a  reasonable  tension  is  put  upon  the  yarn — a  very  nice 
matter  to  decide. 

Now,  while  the  spinner  of  the  yarn  will  know  what  stock  he  should 


COTTON    YARNS   IN   SILK   MANUFACTURE          61 

use,  and  to  what  fineness  he  should  spin  it  in  order  to  give  the  proper 
length  per  pound,  how  is  the  weaver  to  know  the  limits  of  what  he 
should  get,  and  what  is  he  to  do  if  the  yardage  falls  appreciably  short 
of  what  it  should? 

Causes  of  Too  Coarse  Counts. 

The  spinner  may  have  found  that  a  lot  of  cotton  in  work  was  not 
what  it  should  be,  and,  with  all  his  skill,  he  could  not  draw  it  out  to 
the  count  and  make  good  yarn  of  it,  so  he  may  have  had  to  spin  it 
coarser.  Or,  owing  to  advancing  prices  of  cotton,  he  may  have  tried  to 
use  a  lower  grade,  and  so  have  run  up  against  the  same  difficulty.  Or, 
again,  he  may  intentionally  spin  the  yarn  off  in  count,  so  as  to  use  less 
labor,  increase  production  and  use  a  lower-cost  cotton,  counting  on  his 
customer  never  knowing  the  difference,  or,  if  he  should  find  it  out, 
not  being  able  to  enforce  any  claim  against  him. 

Deception  Regarding  Size  of  Fine  Yarns. 

In  low  counts,  there  is  little  temptation  to  deceive  in  these  matters, 
but  in  fine  yarns  deception  may  be  very  profitable,  for  to  spin,  say, 
140*3  will  require  much  better  cotton  and  much  more  labor  than  to  spin 
I3o's,  with,  of  course,  a  corresponding  difference  in  output;  but  130*5 
or  even  lower,  is  often  delivered  for  140*5,  and  never  a  question  is 
raised.  In  fact,  while  silk  manufacturers  have  pretty  generally  been 
taught  to  see  that  silk  requires  testing  for  weight,  count,  etc.,  they  seem 
to  have  let  cotton  go  by  default,  and  are  often  the  losers  thereby. 

When  tests  for  strength  and  elasticity  are  to  be  made,  it  is  obligatory 
that  the  atmospheric  conditions  be  right,  as  otherwise  they  may  be  most 
misleading. 

In  the  silk  trade,  2/8o's  cotton  is  often  used.  This  is  the  count  at 
which,  in  the  tariff,  there  was  a  change  to  a  higher  rate,  and,  to  avoid 
this  increase,  the  imported  yarns  were  spun  to  2/78 — two  and  a  half 
per  cent,  coarser.  This  count  is  frequently  sold  as  2/80,  and  many 
manufacturers  regularly  figure  on  it  as  such. 

Representatives  of  yarn  houses  have  made  most  conflicting  state- 
ments to  me  as  to  what  yardage  should  be  expected  on  different  counts, 
one  man  properly  stating,  for  instance,  that  a  2/150  must  be  75  times 
840  yards,  and  another  saying  that  69  times  840  yards  (the  count  of 
2/1 38*5)  is  all  that  should  be  expected  on  account  of  take-up  in  twist, 
while  others  gave  lengths  between  these. 

Regarding  Harness  Twines. 

It  may  be  noted  here  that  such  special  twists  as  9/120*5,  largely 
used  for  harness  building,  are  spun  to  count  in  the  single,  and  then 
take  up  more  or  less  in  the  twisting. 

Such  twists  as  12/80*5  (usually  12/78*5)  12/60*5,  and  12/50*5,  are 
also  much  sold  for  use  in  making  thread  harnesses. 

These  harness  yarns  will  generally  run  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  less 


62          COTTON    YARNS   IN   SILK   MANUFACTURE 

yardage  per  pound  than  their  nominal  counts  would  call  for,  owing  to 
shortening  due  to  the  twist  put  into  them.  Users  of  such  yarns  should 
make  careful  tests  of  the  count  of  each  lot  delivered. 

Necessity  of  Care  in  Ordering. 

Much  confusion  is  created  by  careless  ordering,  and  exactness 
in  stating  details  on  an  order  is  necessary.  If  a  2/ioo's  is  called  for 
from  a  spinner,  and  he  is  asked  to  have  it  bleached — probably  adding  so 
much  a  pound  for  the  bleaching — it  will  be  a  finer  yarn  than  2/100  when 
delivered,  by  just  the  percentage  of  its  loss  in  weight  in  bleaching ;  but 
if  a  bleached  yarn  of  2/100  is  asked  for,  the  spinner  will  spin  to  a  suffi- 
ciently coarser  size  to  give  the  right  count  after  the  bleaching. 

Mercerized  yarns  are  largely  bought  by  silk  manufacturers  on  the 
grey-weight  basis,  plus  so  much  for  bleaching  and  mercerizing.  In 
this  case,  the  purchaser  cannot  well  tell  just  what  return  weight  he 
should  get. 

Changes  in  Mercerizing. 

Yarns  in  mercerizing  gain  in  length,  but  also  increase  in  specific 
gravity,  though  this  gain  in  length  is  usually  proportionately  greater 
than  the  increase  in  weight ;  so  yarns,  after  mercerizing,  generally  reel 
to  a  slightly  finer  count  than  before  being  processed. 

The  singeing,  or  gassing,  of  yarns  makes  them  appreciably  lighter 
or  finer. 

Effect  of  Dyeing  Upon  Weight. 

Cotton,  when  dyed,  is  considerably  modified  in  weight  according  to 
the  coloring  used.  The  writer  has  observed  that  carded  peeler  2/2o's 
and  2/4o's,  cotton  yarns,  when  dyed  fast  to  scouring,  would  regularly 
alter  in  weight  about  as  follows :  One  hundred  pounds  grey  weight 
would  come  back,  in  aniline  black,  no  pounds;  logwood  black,  100 
pounds ;  dark  green  and  dark  cardinal,  99  pounds ;  navy  blue  and 
brown,  98  pounds ;  medium  blue  and  dark  slate,  95  pounds ;  light  slate 
and  light  grey,  92  to  93  pounds.  These  yarns  would  be  warm  from 
the  dye  house  and  would  take  up  something  in  moisture,  but  the  pro- 
portions are  interesting. 

Customs  of  the  Trade  Regarding  Accuracy  of  Spinning,  Etc. 

In  this  country,  there  is  no  settled  basis  on  which  claims  for  differ- 
ence in  size  may  be  based.  True,  there  has  not  been  much  complaint 
made,  and  American  spinners  keep  to  the  counts  of  their  yarns  very 
well ;  and,  of  course,  the  bulk  of  the  fine  numbers  used  are  spun  abroad, 
and  it  is  in  these  that  differences  in  count  are  most  expensive  and  most 
frequent. 

Southern-spun  cottons  will,  presumably,  not  reel  so  correctly  as 
Eastern  cottons,  on  account  of  the  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  labor. 

It  is  hard  to  say  what  the  decision  would  be  in  a  case  at  law  on  a 
nice  question  of  count.  Of  course,  no  court  would  compel  a  man  to 


COTTON    YARNS   IN   SILK   MANUFACTURE          63 


accept  2o's  in  place  of  40*5,  but  how  if  the  yarn  was  34/3,  or  36*5,  or 
38's? 

The  "custom  of  the  trade"  might  be  made  the  basis  of  a  decision, 
but  no  well-accepted  custom  has  yet  'grown  up  here.  The  nearest  thing 
that  might  be  said  to  approach  a  custom,  is  the  opinion  of  many  promi- 
nent yarn  men  that  cotton  yarns  ought  to  be  spun  within  3  per  cent,  of 
their  nominal  count.  This  would  make  the  limits  for  a  1/50  between 


In  England,  the  matter  is  better  settled,  and  a  yarn  there  must  not 
vary  more  than  2^2  %  either  way.  In  practice,  one  number  above  and 
one  below  —  for  fine  yarns  —  will  be  about  the  variation  for  singles, 
and  two  numbers  for  two-ply.  Spinners  do  not  usually  vary  on  the  fine 
side,  but  if  they  do,  and  their  weights  are  light,  they  may  be  required  to 
make  up  the  short  weight.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  their  yarn  is  coarser, 
they  may  be  made  to  give  enough  extra  skeins  to  make  up  the  proper 
yardage. 

Raw  Cotton  Classifications. 

There  are  a  great  many  gradings  in  raw  cotton,  as  may  be  seen  by 
the  Cotton  Exchange  classifications,  and  each  is  at  a  different  price. 
They  vary  in  fineness,  strength,  length  of  staple,  color,  cleanliness,  etc., 
etc.  Markets  vary,  and  spinners  try  and  make  the  lowest  grade  possible 
do  for  their  work,  and,  as  the  price  rises,  they  often  are  tempted  to  buy 
grades  lower  than  is  judicious.  A  very  trifling  reduction  in  quality 
may  be  just  enough  to  make  unsatisfactory  yarn,  and  this,  of  course,  is 
passed  along  to  the  weaver. 

It  is  also  true  that  a  great  deal  of  the  cotton  used  to-day  in  silk 
mills  could  be  made  of  a  lower  grade  of  stock  without  detriment  to 
either  the  quality  or  quantity  of  the  product,  though  mills  are  naturally 
afraid  to  change  from  a  tried  and  satisfactory  article  to  an  unknown 
one. 

The  following  list  will  show  the  various  classifications  in  raw  cot- 
ton at  present  recognized  by  the  New  York  Cotton  Exchange.  The 
standard  grade,  upon  which  quotations  are  made,  is  that  known  as 
"Middling." 

NEW  YORK  COTTON  EXCHANGE  INSPECTION  BUREAU. 

NEW   YORK  DIFFERENCES   IN   GRADE. 

Cents 
Fair  ............................     1.50    on 

Strict  Middling  Fair  .............      1.30 

Middling  Fair  ...................      i.io 

Strict  Good  Middling  .............  68 

Fully  Good  Middling   .............  57 

Good  Middling  ....................  46     " 

Barely  Good  Middling  .............  35      " 


64          COTTON    YARNS   IN   SILK   MANUFACTURE 


Strict  Middling    24  " 

Fully  Middling 12  " 

Middling   Basis 

Barely  Middling 17  off 

Strict  Low  Middling 35  " 

Fully  Low  Middling 55  " 

Low   Middling    80  " 

Strict  Good  Ordinary  1.40  " 

Good  Ordinary 2.15  " 

Strict  Good  Middling  Tinged 35  on 

Good  Middling  Tinged Value  of  Mid. 

Strict  Middling  Tinged 15  off 

Middling   Tinged    30  " 

Strict  Low  Middling  Tinged .85  " 

Low  Middling  Tinged 2.00 

Middling  Stained 90  " 

New  York,  November  20,  1912. 

There  can  be  no  revision  until  February  5,  1913. 


About  75  per  cent,  of  all  the  American  cotton  sold,  will  normally 
grade  between  Fully  Good  Middling  and  Strict  Low  Middling,  inclu- 
sive, the  proportion  of  the  better  grades  produced  being  limited. 

These  qualities  are  all  used  by  the  ordinary  yarn  spinners,  as  are 
also  the  grades  from  Good  Middling  Tinged  to  Strict  Low  Middling 
Tinged,  these  tinged  grades  being  unsuitable  for  certain  purposes  on 
account  of  their  color,  but  otherwise  good. 

Strict  Good  Middling  Tinged  is  in  the  higher  class,  while  Strict 
Good  Ordinary  and  Good  Ordinary  are  used  for  twines  and  similar 
purposes,  and  Low  Middling  Tinged  and  Middling  Stained  are  ap- 
plied to  very  inferior  uses.  Fully  Low  Middling  and  Low  Middling 
are  poorer  than  what  regular  yarn  spinners  desire  to  handle. 

If  a  cotton  broker  buys  a  contract  for  a  quantity  of  cotton,  he 
may  have  delivered  to  him  some  of  all  or  any  of  these  grades,  and  he 
then  tries  to  place  them  with  his  manufacturing  clients  according  to 
their  varying  needs. 

In  New  York,  these  classification  differences  are  determined  three 
times  a  year.  In  New  Orleans  they  change  them  constantly. 

The  question  as  to  the  sufficiency  or  insufficiency  of  the  price  dif- 
ferences established  between  the  various  grades  from  time  to  time,  is 
a  very  debatable  point.  Sharp  differences  of  opinion  concerning  it 
will  prevail,  and  the  variations  allowed,  say,  on  the  New  Orleans  Cot- 
ton Exchange,  may  be  considerably  different  from  those  prevailing  in 
New  York. 


COTTON    YARNS   IN   SILK   MANUFACTURE          65 

On  a  sale  of  raw  cotton,  the  seller  is  permitted  to  deliver  grades 
above  or  below  the  grade  contracted  for,  by  paying  the  difference  in 
price,  as  established  at  the  time  by  the  Exchange. 

If  good  spinnable  cotton  is  scarce,  the  manufacturer  may  have  to 
accept,  against  his  contracts,  lower  grades  which  may  be  very  un- 
satisfactory, regardless  of  the  allowance  for  difference  in  grade. 

About  these  different  qualities  of  cotton,  silk  manufacturers  know 
little,  and  probably  care  less.  They  speak  glibly  of  peeler,  Egyptian, 
and  Sea  Island  cottons,  and  of  carded  and  combed  yarns,  and  that  is 
about  all.  They  know  that  for  cotton-backs  a  combed,  or  double- 
combed,  yarn  is  needed  for  light  colors — as  being  free  from  much 
dirt  or  speck,  while  carded,  or  double  carded,  yarn  will  answer  for 
the  dark  shades,  and  for  blacks  a  distinctly  cheaper  yarn  will  answer. 

Sea  Island  Cotton. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  cotton  sold  as  Sea  Island,  that  is  really 
from  the  Sea  Islands,  but  which,  from  seed  and  from  cultivation,  is 
away  below  what  its  quality  should  be;  and  there  is  an  immense 
amount  of  yarn  sold  as  Sea  Island,  the  cotton  in  which  never  saw 
that  region,  though  probably  a  good  deal  of  it  is  grown  from  Sea 
Island  seed,  planted  somewhere  else. 

This  Sea  Island  seed  has  also  been  extensively  planted  in  upper 
Egypt,  making  a  white  Egyptian  cotton  of  very  satisfactory  char- 
acter. Some  splendid  cotton  from  Sea  Island  seed  is  now  grown  in 
Barbadoes — second  to  none  in  the  world. 

The  average  white  American  cotton  loses,  in  waxy  products,  etc., 
in  bleaching,  about  3  per  cent.,  while  the  regular  yellow  Egyptian 
cotton  will  lose  about  7  per  cent. 

Allowance  for  Tubes. 

Great  quantities  of  yarn  are  bought  on  paper  tubes  for  weaving 
purposes,  and  it  is  customary  to  charge  the  tubes  in  as  yarn.  The  finer 
counts  are  generally  wound  into  smaller  cops,  and  on  them  the  tare 
to  be  figured  on,  as  represented  by  the  weight  of  the  tubes,  is  about 
4  per  cent.,  while,  in  the  coarser  sizes,  the  tubes  will  probably  amount 
to  about  7  per  cent.,  and  will  often  weigh  i  or  2  per  cent,  in  excess 
of  this.  This  allowance  for  tare  is  very  frequently  overlooked. 

If  cops  are  to  remain  long  in  storage  they  should  be  kept  in  a 
properly  moist  place,  but  if  stored  in  any  naturally  very  dry  place 
some  means  of  humidifying  the  air  should  be  adopted,  or  else  there 
will  be  heavy  waste  in  the  weaving,  from  the  dried,  and  consequently 
loose,  yarn  being  knocked  off  the  tubes. 


66          COTTON    YARNS   IN   SILK   MANUFACTURE 

Length  and  Diameter  of  the  Cotton  Staple. 

From  the  book,  entitled  "Cotton,"  by  C.  M.  Burkett  and  C.  H.  Poe 
(1906),  I  quote  the  following  figures  as  to  the  length  and  diameter, 
in  inches,  of  the  fibre  of  certain  cottons,  stated  to  have  been  arranged 
by  "Evans." 

Variety  Av.  Length        Av.  Diameter 

of  Staple  of  Staple 

Sea  Island   1.61  .000640 

New  Orleans 1.02  .000775 

Texas 1.02  .000763 

Upland  93  .000763 

Egyptian  1.41  .000655 

Native  Indian   89  .000844 

Because  cotton  is  a  cheaper  material  than  silk  is  no  reason  why 
it  should  not  be  as  accurately  tested,  and  its  attributes  as  carefully 
studied.  By  careful  attention  to  this  end  of  the  business,  much  loss 
and  waste  may  be  avoided  and  profits  substantially  increased. 


VII 

SHOULD  A  MILL  DO  ITS  OWN  THROWING? 


Manufacturers,  as  a  class,  are  apt  to  believe  that  the  usual  prices 
they  have  to  pay  for  throwing  are  excessive;  that  deliveries  are  un- 
necessarily slow;  that  too  much  waste  is  made  in  the  process;  and, 
finally,  that  the  work  is  none  too  well  done. 

These  complaints,  and  many  others,  are  made  to  throwsters  by 
people  who  know  little  or  nothing  about  the  processes  of  throwing, 
and  many  of  these  manufacturers  are  convinced  that  it  would  be  a 
good  thing  for  them  if  they  did  their  own  throwing. 

Let  us  consider  what  advantages  they  would  expect  to  gain,  and 
then  see  how  likely  they  are  to  attain  them. 

Advantages  Hoped  For. 

They  feel  sure  that  a  heavy  reduction  in  cost  is  to  be  effected,  and 
look  forward  to  a  net  saving  of  anywhere  from  10  to  40  per  cent. ; 
that  they  will  get  their  throwing  done  just  when  they  need  it  and 
as  they  need  it ;  that  they  will  get  their  lots  through  quicker ;  that  they 
will  make  much  less  waste ;  and,  lastly,  that  they  will  get  much  better 
work. 

It  may  be  admitted  at  the  start  that  there  are  instances  where  many 
or  most  of  these  advantages  can  be  realized,  and  perhaps  the  instances 
may  be  numerous,  but  in  very  many  cases  not  one  of  them  will 
materialize. 

Relative  Employment  of  Spindles  and  Looms. 

The  demand  for  throwing  fluctuates  greatly,  and  it  is  apt  to  be 
either  a  feast  or  a  famine.  At  the  same  time,  the  employment  of 
spindles  is  generally  steadier  than  the  employment  of  looms.  A  throw- 
ster is  likely  to  have  in  his  outfit  just  as  many  spindles  as  his  en- 
gines will  turn,  and  if  he  wishes  to  add  to  them,  with  a  view  of  in- 


68  SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS    THROWING 

creasing  his  product,  he  is  at  once  confronted  with  the  necessity 
of  considerably  enlarging  his  power  plant — an  extremely  costly  and 
time-consuming  undertaking.  He  knows  well  that,  long  before  he 
could  get  into  action  the  motive  power  to  drive  new  spindles,  the 
pressing  demand  would  be  past,  so  he  contents  himself  with  doing 
the  best  that  he  can,  and  his  customers  have  to  wait  more  or  less, 
and  new  business  he  has  to  decline.  When  a  throwster  makes  an 
enlargement,  therefore,  it  is  more  often  done  by  his  building  and 
equipping  an  entirely  new  mill,  perhaps  in  a  new  town  where  help 
has  to  be  trained,  and,  as  such  a  project  requires  much  capital  and 
much  work,  the  throwster  is  likely  to  make  haste  slowly. 

Not  so  the  weaver.  When  his  goods  are  in  active  request,  and 
he  believes  he  sees  a  steady  demand  for  some  time  to  come,  he  thinks 
little  of  buying  another  fifty  or  hundred  looms,  and,  if  he  has  no 
space  to  spare,  he  will  install  them  in  rented  premises  and  will  have 
them  turning  out  goods  in  short  order.  He  expects,  of  course,  to  get 
silk  thrown  for  these  new  looms  by  simply  calling  for  it,  and,  as  other 
mills  are  in  similar  case,  there  is  quickly  created  an  excessive  demand 
for  throwing  with  no  new  spindles  to  supply  it. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  installation  of  spindles  lags  behind  the  installa- 
tion of  looms,  and  the  throwster  is  consequently  in  a  more  independent 
position  than  the  weaver.  Also,  if  broad  silk  weaving  is  dull,  rib- 
bons may  be  good,  or  vice  versa,  and  from  one  or  the  other  the  throw- 
ster will  get  work. 

The  Different  Operations  in  Throwing. 

The  operations  of  throwing  cover  the  opening,  weighing,  and  ex- 
amining of  the  silk;  the  opening  of  the  skeins  and  the  soaking,  fol- 
lowed by  the  wringing  out  of  the  water;  the  unfolding  of  the  damp 
skeins  and  the  rubbing  of  the  gums  where  it  is  deemed  necessary; 
the  drying  and  the  allowing  the  silk  to  regain  its  natural  moisture ; 
then  follow,  for  organzine,  the  winding,  first  spinning,  doubling,  sec- 
ond spinning,  reeling,  stitching  of  the  skeins,  examining,  bundling, 
packing,  and  shipping.  For  the  tram  there  is,  of  course,  only  one 
spinning. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  there  are  many  operations  to  be 
attended  to. 

Spinning  Necessary  for  Organzine. 

The  work  which  takes  the  larger  part  of  the  power  used,  and  which 
requires  a  great  number  of  expensive  spinning  spindles,  is  the  spin- 
ning (or  twisting)  of  the  organzine. 

If  organzine  is  to  be  thrown  with  16  turns  of  twist  per  inch  in 
the  single,  and  14  turns  of  reverse  twist  when  two  ends  are  doubled 
together,  it  follows  that  the  twist  in  each  inch  of  the  raw  single 
thread  (if  no  allowance  be  made  for  take  up  in  twist),  will  be  16 


SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS    THROWING  69 

turns,  plus  one-half  of  14  turns,  equal  to  7,  or  23  turns  of  twist  per 
inch  in  all. 

Few  manufacturers  realize  what  this  twisting  means.  How  many 
know  that  a  single  pound  of  13-15  denier  silk,  averaging  14  deniers, 
will  measure  about  319,000  yards,  a  length  of  over  181  miles?  A  pound 
of  such  silk  would  give  a  continuous  thread  reaching  from  New  York 
to  Philadelphia  and  back.  Now,  when  23  turns  have  to  be  put  into 
every  inch  of  this  great  length,  we  reach  the  enormous  total  of  over 
264,000,000  turns  of  twist  in  one  pound  of  13-15  denier  organzine. 

A  spinning  spindle,  running  10,000  turns  a  minute,  for  55  hours  a 
week,  without  stopping  an  instant  for  any  cause,  would  require  8 
weeks,  even  at  this  great  speed,  to  twist  up  a  single  pound. 

Hence  it  is  that  great  power  and  many  spinning  spindles  are  re- 
quired in  the  throwing  of  organzine. 

Questions  Affecting  Location. 

Bearing  such  facts  in  mind,  the  manufacturer  begins  to  lay  his 
plans.  In  his  mill  buildings  he  will  probably  have  little  unoccupied 
space  and,  of  course,  will  have  no  spare  margin  of  power  sufficient  for 
the  throwing.  New  buildings  must  therefore  be  erected,  and  suit- 
able power  producing  equipment  provided.  Where  shall  these  installa- 
tions be  made  ? 

Allowing  that  land  be  available,  one  would  naturally  wish  to  build 
the  throwing  mill  beside  the  weaving  mill,  where  there  would  be  great 
economy  in  management,  saving  of  transportation,  better  supervision, 
etc.  Here,  however,  one  is  confronted  by  a  serious  difficulty.  Weav- 
ing is  a  high  branch  of  the  textile  art,  as  are  most  of  the  preparatory 
processes,  warping,  twisting,  etc.  The  wages  paid  are  in  accordance, 
and  it  takes  many  years  to  produce  first-class  workers  in  these  fields. 
The  operations  of  throwing,  however,  are  more  easily  and  quickly 
learned,  and  the  degree  of  skill  required  is  far  lower.  Therefore,  the 
relative  price  that  such  work  should  command  is  much  less. 

Considerations  Regarding  Labor. 

If  you  have  the  throwing  mill  beside,  or  near  to,  the  weaving  mill, 
all  the  operatives  in  the  former  will  think  themselves  very  hardly  used 
if  they  do  not  get  about  as  much  wages  as  the  latter,  and  they  are 
therefore  in  a  chronic  state  of  discontent,  and  are  all  the  time  drift- 
ing away  whenever  they  can  get  a  job  in  one  of  the  weaving  mills 
in  the  vicinity.  Then,  in  order  to  hold  the  help,  it  is  often  neces- 
sary to  pay  the  hard-silk  workers  nearly  as  much  money  as  the  dyed- 
silk  workers,  a  sum  far  higher  than  should  be  the  case,  and  which 
makes  the  cost  of  the  throwing  very  dear,  labor  of  course  being  the 
chief  element  which  enters  into  its  cost. 

Thus,  it  may  be  necessary  to  look  for  a  location  in  some  town 
that  may  be  free  from  this  objection,  and  so  some  of  the  expected 
benefits  must  be  sacrificed  at  the  outset.  Also,  when  the  location  se- 


70  SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS    THROWING 

lected  is  at  a  distance  from  the  parent  mill,  everything  will  depend 
upon  the  faithfulness  and  capacity  of  the  manager  selected  for  the 
post,  and  such  a  man  it  is  not  easy  to  find. 

Whatever  location  is  selected,  one  thing  should  be  positively  as- 
sured, and  that  is  a  full  and  constant  supply  of  female  labor.  Such 
a  condition  may  exist  in  a  small  town  for  a  time,  but  when  other 
industries  come  to  the  place  every  one  is  left  shorthanded,  and  the 
price  of  the  labor  is  bid  up,  for  there  is  no  growth  of  population 
to  give  the  supply  needed. 

Therefore,  large  towns  or  cities  of  good  size,  which  are  growing 
rapidly,  would  seem  to  be  the  most  favorable  locations  for  this  end. 
In  such  places,  the  price  that  suitable  labor  costs  will,  in  the  long  run, 
be  probably  not  much  greater  than  in  country  villages,  and  where  help 
is  plenty  a  full  product  can  be  got.  This  help,  in  any  case,  would 
need  to  be  trained,  and  from  the  time  a  mill  of  fair  size  was  started 
up  it  would  likely  be  six  to  twelve  months,  according  to  circumstances, 
before  a  full  and  perfect  output  could  be  counted  on. 

It  is  very  undesirable  to  locate  a  throwing  plant  near  silk  weav- 
ing mills,  for  the  reason  already  stated,  nor  is  it  desirable  to  get  near 
any  other  textile  works,  thread  works,  or  any  establishments  in  fact 
where  female  labor  of  a  higher  grade,  and  consequently  earning  higher 
wages,  is  employed.  A  location,  however,  in  those  parts  of  a  city 
where  the  industries  employ  principally  male  labor,  such  as  iron-works, 
tanneries,  machine-shops,  silver  manufacturing,  lumber  mills,  etc., 
might  be  advantageous,  for  in  the  families  of  these  male  workers  would 
be  many  unemployed  girls  who  would  be  glad  to  get  work  in  a  throw- 
ing mill  where  they  could  earn  wages  equal  to,  or  better  than  what 
they  would  make  as  shop  girls  or  servants.  If  the  population  in  the 
vicinity  was  fairly  dense,  most  of  the  help  might  live  within  walking 
distance  of  the  mill,  and  the  saving  of  60  cents  a  week  in  carfare 
is  a  consideration. 

Land,  Buildings  and  Power. 

The  cost  of  the  land,  in  or  about  a  town,  will  not,  of  course,  be 
very  cheap,  but  to  be  in  the  midst  of  a  large  laboring  population  far 
outweighs  all  other  considerations. 

It  is  not  easy  to  rent  a  suitable  building,  for  even  if  one  be  found 
it  will  rarely  have  a  sufficiently  large  power  plant  to  do  the  work,  and 
no  one  wants  to  install  his  own  plant  on  some  one  else's  property. 
Outside  electric  power,  at  the  prices  generally  charged,  is  too  ex- 
pensive to  consider,  and  the  throwster  must  make  his  own  power. 
This  being  so,  and  the  consumption  of  power  being  great,  the  location 
selected  should  be  made  with  this  point  well  in  mind.  Cheap  coal 
is  needed,  and,  if  the  mill  has  a  railroad  siding,  the  cost  of  hauling 
will  be  saved.  Steam,  gas  or  turbine  engines  may  be  used,  and  a 
location  near  a  stream  from  which  water  can  be  taken  for  the  con- 
densers, or  scrubbers,  is  desirable.  Natural-gas  belts  lie  too  far  away, 


SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS    THROWING  71 

and  water  powers  are  scarce  and  often  not  reliable.  Oil  for  fuel  is 
dear  and  has  disadvantages. 

The  erection  of  a  mill  demands  that  numerous  points  be  well 
considered.  A  building  of  one  story  has  many  advantages,  though, 
of  course,  it  covers  more  ground,  and  it  is  undesirable  to  go  higher 
than  two  stories.  It  may  be  of  brick  or  of  reinforced  concrete.  The 
lighting,  both  natural  and  artificial,  is  of  great  importance.  Roofs, 
skylights,  floors,  ventilation,  heating,  sanitation,  and  many  other  points 
are  all  problems  in  themselves. 

A  matter  of  much  moment  is  the  question  as  to  whether  electric 
transmission  of  power,  in  whole  or  in  part,  will  be  economical  under 
the  circumstances,  and  if  so  what  system,  voltage,  and  kind  of  cur- 
rent should  be  used. 

It  is  desirable  that  the  buildings  be  laid  out  so  that  there  is  a  mini- 
mum of  handling  of  material  as  it  advances  from  one  process  to  an- 
other. Also  that  the  transmission  of  the  power  from  the  engine-room 
to  the  work  be  as  simple  and  direct  as  possible,  and,  again,  that  it  be 
as  easy  as  possible  for  the  foreman  to  keep  each  part  of  the  mill  floor 
constantly  under  his  eye. 

Other  Matters  of  Moment. 

If  there  is  no  natural  source  of  water  supply,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  sink  a  well  and  pump  the  water  for  the  engine,  etc.,  as  city  water 
generally  costs  so  much  as  to  make  it  expensive. 

A  good  system  for  moistening  the  air  should  be  installed,  for  it 
increases  the  quantity  and  improves  the  quality  of  the  product. 

It  may  be  thought  desirable  to  put  in  a  sprinkling  plant,  with  pump, 
etc.,  for  fire  protection,  which  would  mean  much  added  expense,  and 
there  may  be  a  water  tank,  and  stand  pipe  and  hose,  to  provide. 

When  the  building  is  ready,  the  shafting  and  transmission  ma- 
chinery must  be  installed.  Careful  attention  to  this  important  work 
will  save  much  money  in  operation.  Good  and  proper  sized  material, 
well  erected,  and  with  carefully  aligned  shafting  and  suitable  sizes  of 
pulleys  and  belting  will  be  money  well  spent. 

Machinery  and  Hours  of  Operation. 

Then  comes  the  throwing  machinery,  and  the  number  of  spindles  of 
each  sort  to  be  provided  will  depend  on  the  output  of  specific  sizes,  and 
of  specific  twists,  which  the  mill  is  designed  to  produce.  There  is 
the  question  whether  the  mill  will  run  during  the  day  only,  or  night 
and  day,  and,  if  the  latter,  whether  six  nights  a  week  or  only  five ;  also 
whether,  during  the  night,  the  organzine  spinners  alone  will  run,  or 
if  tram  spinners  or  preparatory  machinery  will  also  be  in  operation. 
Another  factor  is  the  speed  at  which  the  frames  can  be  run,  which  again 
depends  on  what  degree  of  skill  the  workers  have,  how  the  qualities 
of  the  silk  may  be  expected  to  average,  and  what  experience  may  have 


72  SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS    THROWING 


shown  to  be  the  highest  speeds  at  which  a  good  and  economical  product 

can  be  secured. 

Speeds  of  Machinery. 
With  a  high-class  plant,  kept  in  excellent  condition,  speeds  such  as 

the  following  are  practicable. 

1st  time      spinners 12,000  R.P.M. 

2d  time  8,000 

Doubler  9,000 

Combination  "        9,000 

Tram  6,000 

Winders-ave.  of  175  yards  per  minute. 
Doublers  vary  much,  but  usually  run  slower  than  winders. 
Reel  flies,  400  turns  per  minute. 
Organzine,  after  first  spinning,  may  be  doubled  and  twisted  on  the 

"down  spinner,"  receiving  about  3  turns  of  twist.    It  can  then  be  given 

the  rest  of  its  twist  on  the  second  time  spinner,  speeded  up  to  10,000 

r.p.m.,  and  run  without  flyers. 

Power  Taken  in  Spinning. 

The  power  needed  for  belt  spinners  running  at  10,000  r.p.m.  is 
usually  upwards  of  i%  h-P-  for  each  100  spindles.  For  combination 
spinners,  100  spindles  will  require  about  3  h.p.  or  over,  with  a  speed 
of  8,500  r.p.m. 

The  percentage  that  the  actual  output  may  be  expected  to  bear  to 
the  theoretical  must  likewise  be  considered. 

Different  Types  of  Machines. 

Then,  what  types  of  machinery  shall  be  bought  ?  Shall  the  spinners 
be  belt  or  band  spinners?  Shall  the  spindles  be  of  this  or  that  type; 
shall  single-deck  or  double-deck  frames  be  used;  shall  there  be  some 
doubler-spinners  in  the  outfit ;  or  some  of  the  types  of  spinners  that  de- 
liver completely  thrown  organzine  from  the  one  machine? 

What  sort  of  winders  shall  be  used;  this  or  that  make  or  style; 
single  or  double  deck  ?  Shall  the  doublers  be  upright,  or  the  old  style ; 
high  speed  or  not?  Shall  the  tram  spinners  be  used  which  double  at 
the  same  time,  or  shall  the  usual  single  or  double  deckers  be  employed  ? 
How  many  flies  shall  each  reel  have  ?  Finally,  what  are  the  best  average 
speeds  to  run  all  these  various  machines  at? 

Intelligent  answers  to  these  questions  require  sound  judgment  and 
much  knowledge  and  experience,  and  on  their  proper  answer  the  welfare 
of  the  enterprise  will  largely  depend,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that 
the  capital  required  will  be  much  more  or  less  according  to  the  decisions 
arrived  at. 

If  tussahs  are  to  be  handled,  a  far  larger  proportion  of  winding 
spindles  will  be  needed ;  and  if  much  crepe  twist  is  required  the  spin- 
ning spindles  must  be  enormously  increased. 


SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS    THROWING  73 

Other  Equipment  Needed. 

Then  come  questions  as  to  the  styles  of  bobbins,  spindles,  swifts, 
etc.,  and  the  materials  of  which  they  shall  be  made.  A  large  sum  of 
money  has  to  be  locked  up  in  bobbins  alone. 

There  is  needed  a  hydro-extractor,  a  bundling  press,  soaking  tanks, 
and  a  host  of  things  required  for  the  mill  equipment  from  scales  to  oil 
tanks,  or  from  fire  pails  to  clocks.  Office  furniture  and  equipment 
must  be  provided,  as  well  as  partitions,  bins,  shelving  and  a  current 
stock  of  the  supplies  that  the  mill  consumes,  soap,  oil,  banding,  paper, 
belting,  and  a  score  of  other  things. 

Capital  Invested  and  Operating  Costs. 

The  outlay  of  capital  that  will  confront  any  manufacturer  who  con- 
templates erecting  his  own  throwing  mill  is  large.  He  must  arrange 
for  land,  buildings,  a  very  expensive  power  outfit,  and  a  well  and  pump, 
heating  plant,  lighting  plant,  humidifyer  system,  transmission  machin- 
ery (with  or  without  motors),  belting,  the  throwing  machinery  proper, 
the  accessory  equipment  of  the  machinery,  the  general  mill  equipment, 
the  furniture  and  fixtures,  and  the  current  stock  of  mill  supplies.  To 
this  must  be  added  the  architect's  and  consulting  engineer's  fees,  the 
organization  expenses,  and  the  loss  that  the  mill  will  make  at  the  out- 
set while  iiie  help  is  being  trained. 

In  the  operating  of  the  plant  the  great  item  of  cost,  as  already 
stated,  is  the  labor.  Then  there  is  the  cost  of  the  management,  and 
the  office  and  other  salaries.  Then  the  power,  light,  and  heat  expenses. 
There  is  interest,  insurance,  taxes,  transportation  charges,  deprecia- 
tion of  machinery  and  buildings,  repairs  to  machinery  and  buildings, 
office  expenses,  traveling,  a  long  list  of  supplies  constantly  being  con- 
sumed, and  many  sundry  expenses. 

Conditions  Necessary  for  Profitable  Operation. 

For  any  mill  of  moderate  size,  say  up  to  300  looms,  the  throwing 
of  its  own  silk  could  hardly  be  specially  profitable  in  any  event.  In 
larger  mills,  if  the  business  were  thoroughly  understood  and  well  man- 
aged, there  might  be  a  respectable  profit  in  doing  this  work,  if  the 
department  could  be  kept  running  full  continuously. 

Should  there  be  slack  work,  which  is  a  condition  that  might  arise 
at  any  time,  or  should  the  demand  for  goods  take  such  a  turn  that 
more  raw-silk,  spun-silk,  cotton  or  other  yarns  would  go  into  their 
manufacture,  and  less  thrown-silk,  then  the  throwing  branch,  running 
with  a  limited  output,  would  probably  be  found  to  be  making  no 
money  or,  more  likely,  would  be  falling  ^behind  its  expenses. 

It  is  not  a  bad  plan,  however,  when  a  large  mill  is  arranging  to 
do  its  own  throwing,  to  put  up  a  plant  that  will  only  take  care  of 
half,  or  at  most  two-thirds,  of  the  regular  throwing  required,  the  re- 
mainder of  the  work  being  given  to  outside  throwsters. 


74  SHOULD    A    MILL    DO    ITS    THROWING 

The  result  will  be  that  the  throwing  department  can  then  be  run 
full,  probably  all  the  time,  and  consequently  at  the  maximum  of 
efficiency. 

Some  throwsters  will  say  that  they  would  not  desire  the  business 
of  a  mill  where  the  work  coming  to  them  would  be  cut  off,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  whenever  business  got  slack,  but  if  some  mills  would  not 
take  the  work  many  others  would,  and  an  arrangement  of  this  sort  will 
be  found  to  be  of  very  great  advantage. 

Serious  Risks  to  be  Taken. 

A  manufacturer,  unskilled  in  the  throwing  art,  has  a  formidable 
task  before  him,  and,  if  he  undertakes  it,  at  every  step  he  will  have  to 
rely  on  what  some  one  else  tells  him.  Should  he  be  ill  advised,  or  un- 
fortunate enough  to  commit  the  care  of  the  throwing  mill  to  a  poor 
manager,  he  will  find  that  he  has  locked  up  a  small  fortune  of  capital, 
is  making  more  waste,  poorer  work,  and  at  a  higher  cost  than  what 
he  could  obtain  from  any  respectable  commission  throwster. 

By  continuing  to  have  his  work  done  outside,  he  need  only  send 
to  be  thrown  what  he  wants  for  his  current  requirements.  Should  he 
have  a  hurry  call  for  a  lot  of  goods,  he  could  send  some  bales  to  each 
of  several  throwsters  and  accumulate  a  good  stock  quickly.  He  can 
also  guard  himself  from  bad  work  and  excessive  waste  by  a  free  use  of 
the  Conditioning  House  facilities. 

Finally,  by  putting  his  money  into  looms,  if  he  has  proper  capital 
to  operate  them,  he  is  likely  to  make  much  more  money  in  this  field 
that  he  does  know,  than  by  trying  to  exploit  the  throwing  end 
of  the  business,  a  field  that  he  does  not  know. 

Market  Prices  for  Throwing. 

In  this  connection,  a  few  words  concerning  the  ordinary  market 
prices  for  throwing  may  not  be  out  of  place,  and  these  prices  will  vary 
widely  at  times. 

The  charges  made  by  first-class  concerns  who  do  good  throwing, 
and  who  keep  the  waste  down  to  a  minimum,  may  vary  from  a  basis 
of,  say,  about  57J^  cents  a  pound  for  2  thread,  13/15  denier  organzine, 
and,  say,  about  27^2  cents  a  pound  for  4  thread  tram,  when  business  is 
very  depressed,  to  around  72^  cents  and  35  cents  respectively  when 
business  is  good  and  prices  high. 

Figures  as  low  as  47^  cents  for  the  organzine  and  25  cents  for  the 
tram  may  be  quoted  by  many  firms  in  bad  times  under  the  stress  of 
competition. 

As  such  prices  will  usually  shew  a  loss  to  the  throwster,  the  manu- 
facturer, who  is  so  ill  advised  as  to  be  willing  to  risk  his  silk  with  any 
concern  making  such  irrationally  low  prices,  should  see  to  it  that  every 
pound,  both  raw  and  thrown,  is  tested  at  the  Conditioning  House  both 
for  weight  and  for  boil-off  so  that  he  may  know  how  much  of  his  silk 


SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS    THROWING  75 

he  is  actually  getting  back.  Coupled  with  this  should  be  tests  to  shew 
whether  or  not  any  insoluble  materials  had  been  added  by  the  throwster 
to  the  soaking  bath. 

If  the  deliveries  of  every  low-priced  throwster  were  checked  off  in 
this  fashion,  there  would  be  very  few  such  impossible  prices  quoted. 

Approximate  Prices  and  Wastages  to  Use  in  Calculations. 
For  the  ordinary  purposes  of  cost  calculating,  the  following  figures 
may  be  taken  as  representing  reasonably  low  average  prices  for  good 
throwing,  and  reasonably  low  wastages. 

Regular  Organzine.  Regular  Tram. 

10/12  Denier 85c.  a  Ib.     2  Thread 37//2c-  a  lb. 

11/13        "       8oc.   "         3        "       32^c.    " 

12/14        "       7oc.    "         4        "       3^c.   " 

13/15        "      650.   "         5        "       3oc. 

14/16       "       6oc.   "        6       "       3oc. 

16/18       "       55c.   " 

For  3  thd.  organ,  add  50.  a  Ib.    For  Cantons  add  5c.  a  Ib. 
[Silks,  such  as  Tsatlees,  Kakedas,  Tussahs,  etc.,  vary  greatly,  and 
throwing  prices  vary  also.] 

4  thread,  70  turn,  hard-twist  Canton  Tram. . .  .$1.25  a  Ib. 

3  thread,  70  turn,  hard-twist  Canton  Tram $1.50  a  Ib. 

Singles,  13/15,  60  turns,  hard-twist  raw-silk.  .$2.00  a  Ib. 

Grenadine  twists  average  from  $1.25  to  $2.25. 

Wastages  to  be  expected. 

Regular  organzine I J4  to    2j^  % 

Regular  tram   i^  to    3     % 

Canton  tram  4 J4  to    6     % 

Crack  tussah  chops 3^% 

Lower  grade 5     % 

Press-packed  tussahs 7J4  to  10     % 

Crepe  twists  (except  Cantons)   2      to    3     % 

Tsatlees   3      to    5     % 

[As  wages,  which  have  been  low,  in  the  silk-throwing  centres  are 

steadily  advancing,  higher  prices  for  throwing  are  likely  to  prevail  in 

the  future.] 


VIII 

SHOULD  A  MILL  DO  ITS  OWN   SILK  PRINTING? 


All  fancy-goods  mills,  or  mills  that  make  a  portion  of  their  product 
in  fancies,  may,  from  time  to  time,  require  to  bring  forward  lines  of 
surface  or  warp  print  goods. 

There  are  not  many  concerns  on  the  market  who  do  a  commission 
printing  business,  and  much  of  the  time  there  is  little  enough  work 
for  any  of  them. 

Delay  in  Deliveries  of  Prints. 

When  print  effects  come  into  vogue,  lots  of  manufacturers  take 
them  up  and  look  to  these  market  printers  to  do  the  work,  and,  of 
course,  each  manufacturer  wants  his  work  done  in  a  hurry.  The 
printers,  crowded  with  work,  no  doubt  do  the  best  they  can,  but  that 
best  is,  at  such  times,  far  from  being  satisfactory  to  the  bulk  of  their 
customers.  The  getting  out  of  new  patterns,  the  making  of  the  sam- 
ples, and  the  bringing  forward  of  the  goods  ordered,  may  each  be 
delayed  to  an  unbelievable  extent,  and  a  manufacturer  may  see  the 
cream  of  the  season's  business  lost  to  him,  and  may  even  be  badly 
stuck  with  goods,  late  for  delivery,  that  are  cancelled. 

Damages  to  be  Allowed  For. 

Goods  printed  in  the  piece,  as  well  as  printed  warps,  are  subject 
to  a  great  many  kinds  of  imperfections  and  damages  in  the  process, 
and  such  damages  can  and  do  cause  extremely  heavy  losses  to  the 
manufacturer.  The  printers  have  no  relish  for  making  good  these 
big  losses,  and  while  they  will  allow  some  claims,  of  course,  yet  they 
are  generally  trivial  compared  with  those  not  allowed. 

It  is  but  fair  to  state  that  silk  printing  is  a  very  technical,  difficult, 
and  hazardous  trade  and  it  is  only  in  the  exceptional  years  that  there 
is  much  money  in  it,  and  if  the  printer  had  to  guarantee  the  absolute 


SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   SILK   PRINTING          77 

perfection  of  all  the  work  he  did,  he  would  either  have  to  double  his 
prices  or  go  into  bankruptcy  from  the  losses  he  would  have  to  allow. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  manufacturer,  who  has  to  get  his  printing 
done  outside,  will  often  have  occasion  to  feel  anything  but  pleased  at 
the  service  he  receives,  and  he  may  sometimes  think  that  it  would  be 
a  good  move  to  put  in  a  printing  plant  of  his  own. 

Equipment  Required  for  a  Plant. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  point  out  what  a  manufacturer 
might  have  to  provide  in  the  way  of  plant  and  appliances  for  such 
work,  and  to  outline  briefly  what  the  work  consists  of. 

The  equipment  for  a  fair-sized  broad  silk  plant  might  consist  of 
the  following :  Two  presses,  of  eight  colors  each,  with  their  equipment 
of  endless  rubber  or  felted-wool  blankets,  mandrels,  color  pans,  color 
rollers,  doctor  blades,  etc.,  and  with  special  engines  or  motors  to  drive 
them ;  a  mandrel  forcer  for  pushing  the  copper  rollers  onto  the  steel 
mandrels;  a  steaming  kier,  or  "cottage,"  for  steaming  the  printed 
goods  to  set  the  colors ;  a  well  equipped  drying  room,  or  other  cham- 
ber, for  drying  the  goods  after  they  pass  from  the  press ;  a  measuring 
machine ;  several  take-up  and  let-off  machines  for  rolling  and  unrolling 
the  goods  and  grey  cloths  in  the  various  stages;  some  dye  jiggers; 
many  vats,  or  tubs,  for  different  uses  such  as  for  stripping  the  gum 
from  the  silk  piece  goods,  washing  the  silks  after  the  steaming  process 
to  rid  them  of  their  loose  color,  washing  the  huge  amount  of  grey 
cloths,  which  are  used  as  a  backing  for  the  silk  while  being  printed, 
cleaning  the  color  pans,  etc.,  most  of  these  tubs  having  suitable  ap- 
paratus for  revolving  the  goods  in  them;  a  large  upright,  or  hori- 
zontal, can  drying  machine  with  many  copper  cylinders  for  drying 
the  grey  cloths,  printed  warps,  and  printed  piece  goods ;  a  large  hydro- 
extractor;  a  small  one-color  printing  press  and  a  small  steaming  kier, 
for  experimental  work;  one  large  double-jacket  copper  kettle,  with 
automatic  mixer,  for  mixing  and  boiling  the  gums  and  starches  used 
as  a  base  with  which  to  mix  the  colorings ;  some  smaller  kettles  of 
similar  kind  for  color  mixing;  all  necessary  power  transmission  ma- 
chinery and  belting;  a  large  assortment  of  stone  crocks,  copper  uten- 
sils, and  vessels  of  various  kinds ;  a  well  equipped  chemical  laboratory ; 
a  big  stock  of  heavy  cotton  grey  cloths,  and  cheese  cloths ;  a  large 
supply  of  colorings  of  all  sorts,  acids,  and  other  chemicals,  gums, 
starches,  oils  and  what-not. 

It  is  also  very  desirable  to  have  a  tentering  machine  in  this  depart- 
ment, for  fabrics  dried  and  stretched  on  such  a  frame  are  markedly 
superior  to  those  run  over  a  can  dryer,  and  are  more  regular  in  width. 
An  effective  machine  of  such  a  kind,  however,  is  very  expensive  and 
uses  up  much  space.  A  suitable  one  may  cost  from  $3,000  to  $6,000 
and  require  a  space  50  to  90  feet  long,  and  perhaps  8  to  10  feet  wide. 


78         SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   SILK  PRINTING 

Cost  of  the  Equipment. 

The  cost  for  such  an  equipment  as  outlined  might  be  from  $12,000 
to  $20,000  and  a  space  of  8,000  to  10,000  square  feet  of  space  should 
be  sufficient  to  comfortably  house  it. 

With  so  many  wet  processes,  it  is  desirable  that  part  of  the  space 
occupied  be  on  the  ground  floor.  It  is  quite  customary,  however,  to 
have  the  dry  room  on  a  floor  above,  and  sometimes  the  drying  is  done 
in  a  tower  built  upwards  through  the  roof. 

Storage  of  Rollers  and  Chemicals. 

A  thoroughly  dry  and  secure  place  should  be  arranged  for  the  stor- 
age of  the  large  stock  of  engraved  copper  rolls  that  has  to  be  carried, 
and  good  arrangements  for  conveying  them  to  and  from  the  presses 
should  be  made,  so  that  there  will  be  little  or  no  chance  of  damage  to 
them.  The  supports  of  the  floor  they  are  kept  on  should  be  substantial, 
as  they  are  very  heavy. 

A  safe  and  convenient  storage  place  for  the  chemicals  should  be 
provided. 

Water,  Sewerage,  and  Steam  Supply. 

An  ample  supply  of  suitable  and  very  clear  water  must  be  always 
available,  and,  if  the  water  may  come  muddy  at  times,  filters  must  be* 
provided. 

Sewer  connections  should  be  direct  and  of  generous  size,  so  that 
there  will  be  no  risk  of  choking  up. 

As  a  great  deal  of  steam  is  used  in  the  stripping,  dyeing,  steaming, 
drying  cans,  drying  room,  kettles,  engines,  etc.,  a  boiler  of  good  size 
must  be  employed  and  a  considerable  coal  consumption  figured  on. 

Operations  of  Printing. 

Coming  now  to  the  processes  of  printing,  they  may  be  broadly 
divided  into  three  operations:  first,  the  preparation  of  the  goods  for 
printing ;  second,  the  printing  of  the  goods ;  third,  the  steaming,  wash- 
ing, and  drying. 

If  only  dark  shades  are  to  be  produced,  and  no  delicate  colors  or 
whites  are  required,  a  very  simple  soap  bath  will  strip  off  the  gum  in 
the  goods  and  the  work  can  be  proceeded  with ;  if,  however,  the  pat- 
tern consists  of  delicate  shades,  three,  or  more,  separate  soap  baths, 
followed  by  a  final  alkaline  bath  and  a  rinsing,  may  be  needed  to  get 
the  silk  sufficiently  white.  Should  an  absolute  white  be  wanted,  the 
silk  will  have  to  be  bleached  as  well,  which  may  be  done  with  Sulphur- 
ous Acid,  or  better  still  with  Peroxide  of  Hydrogen,  or  Peroxide  of 
Sodium. 

In  these  processes,  great  care  in  the  arrangement  of  the  tubs  and 
their  mechanism,  and  in  the  handling  of  the  goods,  has  to  be  taken 
to  avoid  the  damages  known  as  chafe  marks,  which  are  principally  due 


SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   SILK   PRINTING          79 

to  the  displacement  of  the  silk  fibres  when  wet,  and  which,  once  made, 
are  very  difficult  to  remedy. 

The  printing  of  silk  can  be  accomplished  in  three  ways:  first,  by 
printing  a  resist  on  the  goods  and  dyeing  them  afterwards;  second, 
by  dyeing  the  goods  first  and  discharging  afterwards ;  third,  by  printing 
the  pattern  on  direct. 

Resist  Printing. 

The  first  of  these  processes  is  used  in  two  ways :  A,  by  printing  on 
a  resist  which,  after  the  goods  are  dyed  and  steamed,  will  destroy  the 
coloring  matter  and  form  a  white;  B,  by  printing  on  a  resist  which 
will  prevent  the  fibre  from  taking  up  the  color,  wherever  the  resist  is, 
when  the  pieces  are  dyed  afterwards. 

In  this  case,  the  resist  is  composed  of  waxy  substances,  which  must 
subsequently  be  dissolved  out  with  benzine. 

The  "B"  process  is  not  to  be  recommended  as  it  involves  working 
with  large  quantities  of  the  benzine,  which,  being  highly  inflammable, 
is  very  dangerous. 

Extract  Printing. 

The  second  method  of  printing  is  very  important,  as  in  printing  the 
discharge  you  can  not  only  produce  white  but  color  effects.  The  selec- 
tion of  the  colors  is  simple  and  they  are  mixed  with  the  discharge.  The 
goods  are  first  dyed  in  the  ordinary  way  in  the  color  that  is  wanted 
for  the  ground,  and  they  are  then  dried,  and  the  discharge  is  printed 
on  them.  After  being  again  dried  they  are  passed  through  the  steam- 
ing apparatus,  washed  well,  and  finished. 

Direct  Printing. 

The  third  and  most  usual  method  is  the  printing  of  the  pattern 
direct  upon  the  white  cloth.  In  blotch  printing,  that  is,  when  the 
ground  is  in  solid  color,  it  is  very  difficult  on  some  fabrics  to  get  a 
clear  effect,  and  mottled  grounds  in  such  cases  are  common.  By  using 
the  first  or  second  process  this  trouble  is  overcome  and  an  absolutely 
clear  ground  can  be  got. 

The  engraved  rollers,  mounted  on  their  mandrels,  are  arranged  in 
the  press  in  proper  order  and  so  that  the  impressions  that  they  make 
will  fit  to  a  hair's  breadth,  and  also  so  that  the  pressure  given  by  each 
and  all  of  them  will  be  the  same,  and  the  same  at  both  ends. 

Under  each  of  these  rollers  is  a  copper  pan  with  the  proper  color- 
ing mixture  in  it  for  that  roller.  This  color  is  conveyed  to  the  en- 
graved roller  by  an  intermediate  wooden  roller  and  the  surplus  color 
is  scraped  off  the  face  of  the  engraved  roller  by  the  doctor  blade,  a 
long  polished  knife  of  steel,  with  a~  straight  and  true  edge,  which  lies 
against  it. 

Covering  the  big  cylinder  of  the  printing  press,  against  which  the 
rollers  work,  is  a  heavy  endless  rubber  or  woolen  blanket  which  acts 


80         SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   SILK   PRINTING 


as  a  cushion  and  which  extends  above  the  machine  for  a  short  distance 
and,  passing  over  a  roller,  returns  to  it. 

With  the  roll  of  goods  to  be  printed,  there  is  also  fed  into  the  press 
a  heavy  cotton  cloth  which  acts  as  a  sort  of  blotting  pad  to  take  up 
the  surplus  color  squeezed  through  the  silk.  After  leaving  the  ma- 
chine these  cloths  separate,  the  cotton  being  led  to  a  rolling  machine 
where  it  is  rolled  up  for  use  again  or,  if  necessary,  it  is  then  sent  to 
be  washed  out.  The  silk  passes  at  once  to  the  dry  room  and  it  is 
dry  before  it  emerges. 

To  set  up  a  pattern  in  a  press,  adjust  the  rolls  to  a  nicety,  put  in 
the  colorings  and  test  everything  to  see  that  all  is  right,  may  take  the 
printer  and  his  assistant  half  a  day  or  more,  even  if  only  a  single 
sample  is  to  be  made,  while  a  big  length  of  goods  to  be  printed  may 
be  run  through  in  five  minutes,  so  the  speed  at  which  a  press  can  be 
run  has  but  little  to  do  with  its  product. 

In  printing  silks,  it  is  necessary  not  to  dry  them  at  too  high  a  tem- 
perature, and  also  to  leave  the  pieces,  after  drying,  for  a  time  before 
they  are  steamed. 

The  Steaming  Process. 

The  silk  is  now  taken  to  the  steaming  kier  where  it  is  put  in,  hang- 
ing in  festoons  from  sticks  at  the  top.  When  warps  have  been  printed, 
they  are  accompanied  in  their  passage  with  an  equal  length  of  cheese 
cloth,  and  this  envelops  and  protects  them  during  the  steaming,  etc. 
The  steam  should  be  live  steam  and  at  ordinary  atmospheric  pressure, 
and  the  goods,  when  entering  the  steaming  apparatus,  must  be  warm 
so  that  no  steam  may  condense  and  drop  on  the  goods,  producing  stain. 
The  condensation  of  some  steam  in  the  kier  must  be  expected,  and  the 
goods  be  carefully  guarded  against  any  drip. 

Most  printers  think  it  necessary  to  have  5  or  10  pounds  of  pressure 
when  steaming  the  goods,  but  the  writer's  experience  is  that  if  the 
door  of  the  kier  be  just  closed  to,  with  some  cotton  or  woolen  material 
stopping  the  gap,  so  that  only  a  little  steam  can  escape,  better  results 
were  obtained  than  when  there  was  pressure. 

After  steaming,  the  goods  msut  be  carefully  and  thoroughly  washed, 
with  a  full  supply  of  water  sluicing  the  loose  color  away,  in  which 
case  the  white  will  remain  clear,  whereas,  if  the  water  did  not  run  off 
freely,  or  if  too  little  were  used,  it  would  become  colored  from  the 
dyestuffs  and  would  convey  a  distinct  tinge  of  color  to  the  white. 

The  goods  are  now  taken  to  the  hydro-extractor  and  the  water 
is  whizzed  out  of  them,  and  they  are  then  dried  on  the  hot  cylinders 
of  the  can  dryer  or  on  the  tentering  frame.  Should  they  require  any 
finish  or  sizing  it  can  be  put  on  before  the  drying. 

Employees  Required. 

The  staff  of  such  a  department  must  include  a  first-rate  color  mixer, 
who,  of  course,  should  be  a  good  chemist.  Such  men  are  very  scarce 


SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   SILK   PRINTING          Si 


and  are  rather  expensive.  Also  a  thoroughly  competent  printer,  not 
a  cheap  man  either.  The  number  of  other  employees  will  depend  on 
the  amount  of  work  being  done,  and,  while  there  will  be  quite  a  few 
of  them,  they  will  be  mostly  cheap  men,  though,  if  dyeing  is  to  be 
done,  there  should  also  be  a  dyer  who  knows  his  business. 

Each  color  mixer  has  his  own  experience  and  views  as  to  colors  and 
color  makers,  and,  if  a  new  color  mixer  is  engaged,  he  will  frequently 
be  unable,  or  unwilling,  to  use  more  than  a  small  part  of  the  colors  on 
hand  and  will  want  new  ones  ordered. 

Much  of  his  time,  and  much  expensive  material,  will  be  spent  in 
experimental  work.  He  should  therefore  be  required  to  put  all  sam- 
ples, and  full  formulae  for  reproducing  same,  into  a  book,  the  property 
of  his  employers,  so  that  if  he  should  leave  they  will  not  lose  the  benefit 
of  the  experience  that  has  been  so  acquired  at  their  expense. 

Block  Printing  Facilities. 

It  may  also  be  desirable  to  have  some  block  printing  facilities  in 
the  department.  For  this  purpose  a  specially  constructed  table,  very 
true  and  level,  is  needed,  a  color  box  in  which  to  ink  the  blocks,  and 
a  supply  of  pattern  blocks,  etc. 

These  blocks  can  be,  say,  8  to  12  inches  square,  are  made  of  hard 
wood,  and  the  pattern  work  is  edged  with  brass  and  stands  out  in 
relief.  A  good  block  printer  will  get  through  quite  a  yardage  in  a  day. 
It  is  economical  to  use  blocks  if  orders  are  likely  to  run  small,  and 
sometimes  it  is  well  to  have  roller  patterns  duplicated  in  blocks,  so 
that  samples  and  small  duplicate  orders  can  be  brought  forward  quickly 
and  cheaply  in  that  way.  It  will  be  necessary,  however,  to  have  on 
the  staff  a  man  skilled  at  that  work,  though  he  may  be  used  in  other 
directions  when  there  is  no  block  printing  to  do. 

Copper  Rollers  and  Their  Cost. 

*  The  cost  of  the  copper  rollers  is  a  huge  expense  in  a  printing  busi- 
ness. The  makers  of  such  rollers  charge  for  them  10  cents  a  pound 
above  the  price  of  ingot  copper,  and,  when  they  are  finally  turned 
down  till  too  thin  for  further  use,  or  if  scrapped  for  any  other  reason, 
the  makers  will  take  them  back  at  the  ruling  price  of  ingot  copper, 
if  accompanied  with  an  order  for  an  equal  quantity  of  pounds  of  new 
rollers  on  the  above  basis. 

A  mill  will  carry  a  certain  number  of  standard  patterns  always  on 
hand,  polka  dots,  rose  buds,  etc.,  and  will  always  be  engraving  new 
patterns  and  turning  off  ones  that  are  passe. 

The  engraving  may  be  done  by  means  of  the  pantograph  and  acid 
etching,  or  by  the  more  expensive,  and  better,  milling  process.  This 
work  may  cost  from  $8  to  $20  a  roller,  without  including  the  cost  of 
the  mills  when  they  are  used. 

The  artist's  sketches  from  which  the  designs  are  made,  may  cost, 
say,  from  $5  to  $15  each. 


82          SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   SILK   PRINTING 

A  common  size  of  roller  will  be  28  inches  long  and  of  a  thickness 
that  will  give  a  weight  of  about  140  pounds  per  roller,  and  the  num- 
ber of  rollers  to  a  pattern,  running  from  one  to  eight,  may  be  averaged 
as  five. 

If,  therefore,  a  mill  had  on  hand  the  moderate  number  of  one  hun- 
dred patterns,  the  cost  would  figure  as  follows,  taking  copper  at  15 
cents  a  pound,  which,  plus  10  cents,  would  make  the  rollers  cost  25 
cents  a  pound. 

Five  rollers  per  set,  at  140  pounds  each,  equal  700  pounds,  which 
at  25  cents  a  pound  makes  $175.  To  this  add,  say,  $15  a  roller  for 
the  engraving,  making  $75,  and  $10  for  the  sketch,  and  we  thus  have 
each  pattern  costing  the  average  amount  of  $260.  The  one  hundred 
patterns  would  thus  represent  an  investment  of  $26,000,  over  and  above 
the  total  cost  of  the  plant. 

Capital  That  Must  be  Invested. 

A  manufacturer,  starting  his  own  Silk  Printing  department  on  such 
lines  as  these,  may  consequently  be  confronted  with  a  fixed  investment 
of  $40,000,  more  or  less,  in  addition  to  his  building,  boiler  plant,  water 
supply,  etc.,  and  he  will  have  an  expensive  staff  that  he  must  carry 
(for  his  skilled  people,  at  any  rate,  cannot  be  laid  off  whenever  it  suits 
him),  and  he  must  drag  all  the  current  expenses  of  the  plant  besides. 

Risky  Business  to  Go  Into. 

When  prints  are  in  active  request,  which  is  perhaps  in  one  year 
out  of  five,  or  more,  this  is  all  right.  Or  a  broad-silk  manufacturer 
may  get  printing  work  from  friendly  ribbon  manufacturers,  or  vice 
versa,  to  help  out. 

But  where  is  he  when  prints  are  not  wanted?  Sampling  all  the 
time  and  no  orders  but  trivial  ones  dribbling  in  now  and  then,  always 
hoping  for  an  improvement,  and  always  showing  a  smart  loss  at  the 
end  of  each  season. 

The  department  would  do  all  right,  of  course,  if  the  mill  should  keep 
it  supplied  with  goods  to  print.  If  a  couple  of  hundred  looms  were 
kept  going,  say,  on  foulards,  which  were  regularly  printed  and  sold,  if 
it  were  possible  to  get  out  at  a  profit  on  them,  then  the  doing  of  one's 
own  printing  might  be  a  very  safe  and  profitable  enterprise. 

Any  manufacturer,  however,  who  goes  into  printing,  and  who  is 
not  prepared  to  give  this  department  full  and  constant  work  of  some 
kind,  will  probably  find  that  he  has  a  very  large  white  elephant  on  his 
hands,  and  will  wish  that  he  had  never  gone  into  it. 

PRINTERS'    PRICE   LISTS. 

The  following  prices,  which  are  some  current  quotations  of  one 
of  the  large  concerns  which  do  printing,  will  serve  to  shew  how  such 
work  is  charged  for. 

Special  prices  may  be  made  to  meet  special  conditions,  however. 


SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   SILK  PRINTING          83 

PRICE    LIST. 
SURFACE   PRINTING. 

Width        i  Color    Each  Extra  Color 

Habutais to  21"  $y2c  y2c 

Foulards  to  27"  6c  y2c 

Grenadines  to  36"  90  */2c 

Marquisettes  to  40"  I2C  ic 

Charmeuse  over  40"  150  ic 

Crepes  de  Chine over  40"  150  ic 

i  Color    2  or  3  Color    Multi-Color 

Mulls — to  27" 40  4^0  50 

"    —to  36" 50  sy2c  70 

«    _to  40" 6c  6^c  8c 

For  Cotton  and  Tussah,  or  Cotton  and  Schappe  goods,  add  ic  extra. 

WARP  PRINTING. 

Width  i  Color  Each  Extra  Color  Double  Warp 

27" 6c  y2c  Add  50% 

36" 8c  y2c 

44"........       9c  ic  "       " 

When  only  single  warps  are  printed,  y2c  extra. 
Weighted  warps  printed  at  customers'  risk. 

WATERPROOFING. 
Width,  21"  Price,  ij4c 

"       27"  "      2^c 

"       36"  "      3C 


IX 

SHOULD  A  MILL  DO  ITS  OWN  FINISHING? 


This  question  is  one  with  many  sides.  Silk  finishing,  as  a  business, 
is  conducted  on  a  large  scale  by  various  firms,  and  the  work,  on  the 
whole,  is  done  by  them  at  reasonable  rates  and  in  a  generally  satis- 
factory manner.  A  manufacturer  who  may  be  wondering  if  he  should 
or  should  not  put  in  his  own  plant  for  finishing  may  well  hesitate. 

Lack  of  Knowledge  of  the  Processes. 

He  may  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  processes,  and,  if  he  should 
not  get  the  right  man  for  a  foreman,  his  product  might  come  on  the 
market  improperly  finished  and  severe  losses  be  entailed  thereby.  He 
is  unaware  of  the  value  or  amount  of  the  machinery  necessary,  the 
space  required,  the  power  and  heat  needed,  or  the  labor  that  must  be 
employed.  If  goods  are  spoiled,  there  is  no  one  on  whom  he  can 
make  reclamation. 

Advantages  of  Outside  Finishing. 

The  outside  finisher  is  prepared  to  finish  for  him  any  fabric  from 
taffeta  to  moire  antique,  and,  if  his  own  product  were  varied,  he  could 
hardly  expect  to  maintain  a  plant  that  would  care  for  all  the  different 
cloths  that  he  might  get  out.  The  outside  man,  also,  getting  business 
from  many  sources,  is  likely  to  be  much  better  informed  as  to  the 
kind  of  finish  that  is  going  to  be  wanted  for  the  season,  and  this 
guidance  he  would  lack  if  he  were  doing  his  own  work. 

He  may  feel,  too,  that,  when  getting  his  finishing  done  on  commis- 
sion, he  knows  the  exact  cost  of  the  work,  and  that  it  will  be  the  same 
whether  his  output  is  large  or  small.  Should  he  assume  the  respon- 
sibilities connected  with  doing  his  own  work,  he  would  have  a  natural 
fear  that  the  occasional  slack  work  that  has  to  be  looked  for  might  turn 
an  expected  profit  into  an  actual  loss. 


SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   FINISHING  85 


Considerations  such  as  these  are  apt  to  make  a  man  feel  that  he  will 
be  wise  to  leave  well  enough  alone,  and  if  he  has  any  money  to  spare 
to  put  it  into  additional  looms  instead  of  into  a  finishing  plant. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  point  out  what  a  broad-silk  manu- 
facturer has  to  consider  if  he  desires  to  finish  his  own  goods.  It  is 
not  intended  here  to  go  into  a  detailed  description  of  the  machines,  or 
of  the  work  done  by  them,  but  simply  to  indicate  their  functions  in  a 
general  way. 

Objects  Aimed  At  in  the  Finishing. 

The  results  to  be  attained  are  the  stiffening  or  softening  of  the 
goods,  the  making  of  them  thinner  or  fuller  to  the  hand,  the  smooth- 
ing, stretching,  polishing,  singeing,  moireing,  embossing,  etc.,  etc.,  ac- 
cording to  the  requirements  of  the  trade  and  the  fashion  of  the  day. 
Be  it  noted,  also,  that,  as  silks  are  finished  dry,  any  imperfections  oc- 
curring in  the  weaving  or  other  previous  processes  will  not  be  covered 
up  or  minimized  by  the  finishing. 

Machinery  and  Processes  Employed. 

To  attain  the  desired  results,  various  machines  are  needed,  those  in 
common  use  being  the  spray  machine,  quetsch,  paper-drying  machine, 
button  breaker  (upright  and  horizontal),  knife  breaker,  cylindering  ma- 
chines of  different  kinds  (and  which  may  be  equipped  with  expand- 
ing rollers  for  stretching  out  the  cloth  to  its  full  width  and  getting 
rid  of  wrinkles),  calender,  hydraulic  press,  singeing  machine,  polishing 
machine,  brushing  machine,  tentering  frame,  sewing  machine,  folding 
and  measuring  machine,  embossing  machine,  etc.,  etc. 

The  spray  machine,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  intended  to  spray  the 
goods  with  a  sizing  mixture  finely  atomized.  This  sizing  is  composed 
of  various  materials,  gums,  glues,  gelatines,  waxes,  starches  or  what 
not,  each  finisher  having  his  own  preparation  and  generally  imagining 
that  there  is  no  other  mixture  equal  to  it. 

The  "quetsch"  derives  its  name  from  the  German  "quetschen,"  to 
squeeze,  and  is  a  machine  in  which  the  sizing  from  a  trough  can  be 
applied  to  the  goods  by  means  of  a  series  of  rollers  mounted  one  above 
the  other. 

Goods  that  require  excessive  gumming,  such  as  grenadines,  may  be 
finished  "au  mouiller,"  as  it  is  called,  in  which  case  the  fabric  is  com- 
pletely saturated  with  the  sizing,  the  surplus  size  being  squeezed  out. 

This  is  accomplished  by  passing  the  goods,  under  pressure,  between 
a  pair  of  rollers,  the  lower  one  of  which  is  revolving  in  a  trough  of  size. 

The  name  is  taken  from  the  French  "mouiller,"  meaning  "to 
saturate." 

After  the  spraying,  the  goods,  being  damp,  are  rolled  up  with  dry, 
hot  paper,  which  dries  the  fabric  but  dampens  the  paper.  This  is  where 
the  paper-drying  machine  comes  in,  which  dries  out  the  paper  and  puts 
it  in  shape  for  use  again. 


86  SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   FINISHING 

The  spraying  fills  the  air  with  a  gummy  vapor,  and  this  process 
is,  therefore,  usually  carried  on  in  a  room  partitioned  off.  In  this 
room  a  waterproof  floor  is  needed,  and  provision  has  to  be  made  for 
keeping  the  room  pretty  clear  of  steam. 

On  account  of  the  all-pervading  gum,  the  ventilating  and  drainage 
of  the  spray  room  are  often  quite  difficult  to  arrange  satisfactorily. 

The  goods,  if  gummed,  after  having  been  unrolled  from  the  paper 
they  are  wound  up  with,  will  be  found  to  be  stiff  and  papery.  To 
soften  them,  without  robbing  them  of  the  dressing  they  have  absorbed, 
is  the  function  of  the  button  breaker.  The  knife  breaker  accomplishes 
a  similar  object,  and  it  also  has  a  polishing  effect  on  the  fabric,  but 
strips  it  of  rather  more  dressing  than  does  the  button  breaker. 

An  excellent  breaker,  of  recent  design,  is  one  in  which  the  cloth 
passes  between  bars  having  deep  spiral  flutings  (alternately  right  and 
left),  which  produce  a  breaking  effect  similar  to  the  old  fashioned  hand 
breaking. 

Goods  with  plenty  of  silk  in  them  are  not  usually  much  gummed, 
unless  the  fashion  of  the  day  demands  some  unnatural  stiffness,  or 
unless  the  weave  be  of  a  character  where  the  threads  are  liable  to  slip, 
as  gumming  them  would. help  to  prevent  this.  The  cheaper  grades 
of  goods  are  generally  well  sized,  and  this  added  thickness  and  stiff- 
ness serves  to  make  them  satisfactory  for  uses  where  otherwise  they 
would  not  be  acceptable.  While  it  is  necessary  to  add  to  the  body  of 
many  goods  by  sizing  them,  so  as  to  give  a  commercial  article  at  a  low 
price,  yet  the  gumming  generally  detracts  from  the  lustre  and  silkiness 
of  the  cloth. 

Silk  goods  also,  are  readily  softened  by  heat  and  by  pressure,  and 
for  these  purposes  cylindering  machines,  tuiles,  calenders,  presses,  etc., 
are  employed. 

The  effect  of  heat  and  pressure  is  to  make  the  fabric  softer  and 
more  lustrous,  but  at  the  same  time  it  loses  much  of  its  apparent  fulness 
or  hand.  Cloths  with  plenty  of  silk  in  them  can  stand  this  and  be 
greatly  helped  by  it,  but  for  poor  or  thin  cloths  it  would  not  do,  as 
it  would  make  them  too  flimsy. 

In  the  calenders,  the  goods  are  squeezed  between  ponderous  rollers 
of  metal  or  paper,  some  of  which  rollers  can  be  heated  if  desired.  The 
movement  of  the  rollers  can  be  so  arranged,  if  required,  that  a  friction, 
or  rubbing,  can  be  given  to  the  goods  as  they  pass  through. 

In  the  cylindering  process,  the  cloth  is  run  over  hollow  metal  cylin- 
ders, either  hot  or  cold,  thus  acquiring  an  added  smoothness  or  lustre. 

There  are  machines  with  a  combination  of  friction  bars,  heated 
cylinders,  steam  jets,  and  expanding  rollers,  specially  designed  for 
removing  wrinkles  and  smoothing  and  lustreing  the  goods,  which  are 
known  as  smoothing  machines. 

The  "tuile"  imparts  the  same  finish  as  a  hot  ironing.  Its  main 
feature  is  a  hollow  steel  cylinder,  steam  heated,  enclosed  in  a  specially 


SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   FINISHING  87 

woven  blanket  cover,  and  which  revolves  in  a  sort  of  iron  cradle  or 
hollow  (being  the  upper  part  of  the  hollow  base  of  the  machine), 
which  also  is  heated  from  the  inside  by  steam. 

The  cylinder  carries  the  fabric  with  it,  and  irons  it  against  the  pol- 
ished surface  of  the  hollow,  or  cradle,  in  which  it  rests. 

Tuile  is  the  French  word  for  tile,  or  the  hollow  gutter  tile,  sugges- 
tive of  the  deep  hollow  in  which  the  blanketed  cylinder  revolves. 

Everyone  is  familiar  with  the  hydraulic  press,  its  ponderous  char- 
acter, the  enormous  power  it  exerts,  and  its  hollow,  steam-heated  plates. 
Such  a  machine  needs  a  very  solid  foundation,  and  is  usually  erected 
on  a  basement  floor,  though  it  may  pass  up  through  the  floor  above.  If 
put  on  any  floor  above  the  basement,  most  substantial  support  must 
be  provided. 

Goods  in  such  a  press  can  be  given  either  a  hot  or  cold  treatment. 
The  advantage  which  such  presses  are  believed  by  many  to  possess, 
over  any  machines  of  a  rotary  character,  is  that  the  goods  can  remain 
under  pressure  for  such  a  length  of  time  that  the  finish  given  acquires 
a  permanence  that  it  might  otherwise  not  attain. 

Screw  presses,  driven  by  power,  can  also  be  used  and  are  fairly 
effective  if  well  mounted,  but  the  hydraulic  press  is  much  the  best. 
Calenders  and  presses,  be  it  noted,  are  not  only  very  heavy,  but  are 
very  expensive  machines. 

For  umbrella  silks,  good  polishing  is  necessary,  and,  in  fact,  it 
improves  nearly  all  fabrics.  The  machines  which  give  the  best  results 
in  this  work  are  expensive,  and  the  older  types  take  up  considerable 
room  and  give  a  very  limited  output. 

Some  polishing  machines  of  recent  construction  are  much  more 
economical  of  space,  and  will  give  a  very  satisfactory  output  of  well 
polished  goods,  2,000  yards  a  day,  of  certain  fabrics,  being  polished. 

To  some  fabrics,  a  fairly  satisfactory  polish  can  be  given  by  a  steel 
blade  or  edge,  set  where  the  reed  should  be  in  a  loom,  and  over  which 
the  goods  are  passed,  back  downwards,  while 'the  machine  runs  at  high 
speed. 

Cotton-back  satins  require  a  special  treatment  for  filling  up  the 
backs  and  making  them  firm  and  smooth.  This  entails,  among  other 
apparatus,  the  use  of  a  dryer  which  takes  up  much  space  and  uses 
considerable  steam. 

The  application  of  the  heavy  dressing  to  the  backs  of  these  goods 
is  known  as  "en  regie"  finishing.  Regie  is  French  for  "rule,"  and  the 
reference  is  to  the  scraper  or  rule  which,  by  the  height  at  which  it 
is  set,  governs  the  amount  of  the  finish  that  is  to  be  imparted  to  the 
goods. 

Some  goods,  on  account  of  their  hairy  character,  require  to  be 
singed,  a  process  with  some  drawbacks  to  it,  and  which  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  necessary  evil  and  to  be  avoided  if  possible.  A  good  type 
of  gas  singeing  machine  will  be  needed  for  this  purpose. 


88  SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   FINISHING 


Another  machine  that  properly  belongs  in  the  finishing  room  is 
the  tentering  frame.  This  is  used  for  the  drying,  and  holding  out  to 
a  fixed  width,  of  goods  that  have  been  piece  dyed  and  which  are  still 
in  a  damp  state.  It  is  principally  employed  for  thin  and  stretchy 
fabrics,  such  as  crepes,  chiffons,  grenadines,  etc.,  but  other  firmer  and 
heavier  goods,  that  are  commonly  dried  on  heated  cylinders  or  between 
steam  coils,  can  be  finished  on  the  tentering  frame  to  the  decided  im- 
provement of  their  appearance. 

In  their  larger  sizes  these  machines  will  be  60  to  90  feet  long,  are 
driven  by  special  engines,  and  have  automatic  clamps,  the  cost  of  one 
being  from  $3,000  to  $6,000.  They  have  the  advantage  of  a  large 
output  at  a  low  labor  cost,  but  only  a  very  big  product  to  be  handled 
would  justify  the  installation  of  such  a  machine. 

Moireing  and  Embossing. 

The  moireing,  or  watering,  of  silk  is  an  important  branch  of  the 
business.  Various  sorts  of  calenders  and  presses  are  used  in  this  work, 
and  numerous  devices  are  employed  to  produce  the  different  moire 
effects  that  are  demanded  from  time  to  time.  Those  who  intend  to 
bring  out  moire  fabrics,  when  they  may  come  into  fashion,  must  equip 
themselves  with  the  proper  outfit  well  in  advance  (for  it  takes  time 
to  provide  it),  and,  if  they  wait  till  the  goods  are  wanted,  the  fashion 
will  be  out  again  before  they  can  get  ready. 

There  is  also  the  process  known  as  embossing,  for  impressing 
small  pattern  effects  on  the  surface  of  goods  by  passing  them,  under 
pressure  and  with  heat,  between  suitably  engraved  rollers.  This  process 
is  sometimes  applied  to  soft,  thin  goods,  and  also  to  velvets,  though 
not  many  silk  goods  are  treated  in  this  fashion. 

Special  treatments  of  various  kinds  have  to  be  employed  from  time 
to  time  to  get  particular  effects  on  one  or  the  other  of  the  multitude  of 
silk  fabrics. 

A  good  railway  sewing  machine  is  needed.  Also  a  brushing  ma- 
chine, and  a  folding  and  measuring  machine.  A  large  number  of 
wooden  rollers  and  iron  mandrels  have  also  to  be  provided. 

Supplies  Required. 

For  a  finishing  plant,  the  sum  invested  in  the  stock  of  supplies  is 
not  very  considerable,  as  the  commodities  used  are  not  high  priced. 
The  stock  will  consist  of  a  large  number  of  rolls  of  finishing  paper, 
a  few  barrels  of  glue  and  other  sizing  materials,  and  a  stock,  cut  to  the 
exact  sizes  needed,  of  the  white  paper  for  the  inside,  and  the  buff-and- 
white  paper  for  the  outside,  in  which  the  pieces  are  to  be  put  up.  The 
other  supplies  required  are  of  a  minor  nature.  Such  paper  as  is  needed 
can  be  bought  at  from  three  to  six  cents  a  pound,  and  the  glue  will 
cost  from  ten  to  fifteen  cents  a  pound. 


SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   FINISHING  89 

Analysis  of  Costs. 

It  is  very  seldom  that,  in  private  finishing  departments,  any  reliable 
information  can  be  produced  as  to  the  actual  costs  of  the  different 
processes,  or  the  cost  of  treating  different  fabrics. 

The  following  figures,  showing  the  amount  and  cost  of  the  sup- 
plies only,  used  in  finishing  19  inch  plain  taffetas,  were  prepared  by 
the  writer  some  years  ago,  and  may  be  of  interest  in  this  connection. 

SUPPLIES  USED  IN  THE  FINISHING  OF   100  PIECES  OF 
19  INCH  TAFFETA. 

Sizing  material.     16.80  Ibs.  Glue  @  ice $1.6800 

8.00  Ibs.  Glycerine  @  i6c 1.2800 

2.40  Ibs.  Olive  Oil  @  25c 6000 

Cotton  sewing  thread  (7,200  yds.  per  lb.),  195  yards  =195/7200 

Ibs.  @  $1.00 0270 

Green  Stitching  Cotton,  2/4's,  mercerized,  22.2  yards  =  1/76 

Ibs.  @  8oc 0106 

100  Sheets,  18^/2  x  36,  Inside  white  book  paper,  =  13^4  Ibs.  @ 

5^c 79°6 

100  Sheets,  19%  x  24,  Outside  buff-and-white  paper,  =  25  7/16 

Ibs.  @  4J/2  c i  .1460 

150  Yds.  Red  Tape,  @  $2.50  per  1,000  yds 3750 

Total $5.9092 

There  is  also  something  to  be  added  for  wear  and  tear  of  finishing 
paper,  lap  cloths,  etc.,  and  for  water  used  for  size,  steam,  and  spray- 
room  cleaning,  as  well  as  for  the  gas  used  in  the  calendering,  and  also 
something  for  transportation  charges  on  the  supplies. 

The  additions  will  bring  the  cost  up  to  a  trifle  over  6  cents  per  piece. 
Expenditures  made  in  connection  with  such  matters  as  power,  heat- 
ing and  lighting,  could  hardly  be  segregated  for  such  a  calculation. 

Floor  Space  and  Power  Needed. 

The  floor  space  needed  for  a  finishing  plant  is  not  excessive.  It 
should  be  very  well  lighted  both  naturally  and  artificially.  Four  to 
five  thousand  square  feet  of  area  should  be  sufficient  space  to  house  a 
good  plant  suitable  for  finishing  the  product  of  from  500  to,  perhaps, 
i  ,000  broad  silk  looms,  unless  the  output  was  of  so  diverse  a  char- 
acter as  to  make  a  large  variety  of  special  machinery  necessary. 

The  aggregate  power  that  is  annually  consumed  in  a  finishing  plant 
is  not  large,  as  not  many  of  the  various  machines  will  be  in  operation 
at  the  same  time.  Few  of  them,  excepting  calenders  and  presses,  re- 
quire very  much  power  to  drive  them.  In  spite  of  this,  it  is  necessary  to 
provide  such  a  sufficient  supply  of  power  that,  if  most  of  the  machines 
were  in  operation  at  once,  there  would  be  enough  to  go  round.  A  unit 


90  SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   FINISHING 

of  from  20  to  30  horse-power  would  probably  be  sufficiently  large,  under 
any  ordinary  circumstances,  to  provide  for  the  necessary  power  for 
such  a  plant  as  referred  to  above. 

Pipe  connections,  in  various  parts  of  the  room,  must  be  made  for 
water,  steam,  gas,  etc.,  and  gas  is  often  very  freely  used. 

Necessary  Equipment  and  Its  Cost. 

The  cost  of  machinery  equipment  will  vary  widely.  Should  a  mill, 
even  a  large  one,  be  producing  only  goods  of  a  simple  and  uniform 
character — fabrics,  for  example,  that  might  only  require  gumming  and 
breaking — then  a  very  small  amount  of  machinery  would  suffice;  but 
should  the  product  embrace  a  large  variety  of  cloths,  each  needing 
some  special  treatment,  it  would  follow  that  a  whole  lot  of  machines 
would  be  absolutely  necessary. 

An  individual  manufacturer  who  finishes  his  own  goods  has,  in  this 
respect,  an  advantage  over  the  job  finisher,  for,  while  the  former  has 
only  to  provide  the  exact  number,  kind,  and  width  of  machines  needed 
to  handle  his  own  products,  the  latter  has  got  to  be  prepared  at  all 
times  to  finish  any  and  all  kinds  of  goods  that  may  be  sent  to  him,  and, 
consequently,  he  requires  to  have  a  much  more  diversified  plant,  and  to 
employ  an  unduly  large  staff  with  a  consequent  loss  in  the  cost  of  the 
labor. 

The  cost  of  the  finishing  machinery  for  a  mill  with  500  to  1,000 
looms,  might  amount  to  between  $6,000  and  $15,000,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  work  to  be  done,  and  provision  would  also  have  to  be 
made  for  the  transmission  machinery,  piping,  blowers,  ventilators,  etc., 
and  the  small  equipment — scales,  measures,  and  so  forth. 

The  Kind  of  Foreman  Needed. 

The  foreman  must  be  a  man  with  good  experience,  and  he  should 
have  both  intelligence  and  judgment.  He  should  be  able  to  convey 
clearly  his  ideas  and  instructions  to  his  assistants.  Unless  the  plant 
is  a  very  large  and  busy  one,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  his  doing  his 
full  share  of  the  manual  work  of  the  department  by  running  a  machine 
as  the  occasion  requires. 

When  the  goods  come  each  day  to  the  room  to  be  finished,  he 
should  inspect  them,  or  oversee  their  inspection,  and  should  have  them 
separated  into  groups  such  as  light,  average,  and  heavy,  and  he  will 
then  issue  the  necessary  instructions  as  to  the  treatment  to^  be  accorded 
each  group.  One  of  the  principal  aims  in  good  finishing  is  to  correct, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  unavoidable  differences  in  the  pieces  as  they  come 
from  the  looms,  reducing  somewhat  the  "hand"  of  those  that  are  too 
heavy,  and  bringing  up  the  weight  of  the  light  ones,  and  so  securing 
a  good  degree  of  uniformity  in  the  finished  product.  As  the  goods  are 
being  finished,  the  foreman  must  follow  them  up  to  see  that  they  cor- 
respond closely  to  the  standard  samples  to  which  he  is  working. 


SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   FINISHING  91 

Overhead  Charges. 

At  the  moderate  rates  charged  by  the  commission  finishers,  it  is 
apparent  that  a  mill  must  be  of  fair  size  to  warrant  it  in  expecting  to 
do  its  own  work  more  cheaply,  as,  outside  of  the  sinking  of  capital  in 
the  plant,  there  is  the  cost  of  the  interest  on  same,  the  depreciation, 
rental  value  of  space  occupied,  and  salary  of  foreman,  all  of  which 
amount  to  quite  a  charge  on  the  business,  and  which  goes  right  on 
whether  the  mill  be  running  slack  or  not.  When  these,  and  other  fixed 
charges,  are  added  to  the  labor  and  expenses  directly  applied  to  the 
goods,  it  will  generally  be  found  that,  for  a  medium  to  small  sized  mill, 
there  is  no  profit,  but  rather  a  loss,  in  running  such  a  plant. 

As  to  where  the  dividing  line  comes,  the  opinion  seems  to  prevail 
among  broad  silk  manufacturers  that,  for  plants  of  about  300  looms  or 
less,  there  is  little  or  no  saving  to  be  made  in  doing  one's  own  finishing, 
and  that  it  is  then  better  to  have  this  work  done  outside  by  a  public 
finisher.  From  about  400  looms  and  upward  the  case  is  different,  as  the 
unit  cost  for  fixed  charges  is  then  greatly  reduced. 

In  installing  the  plant,  the  manufacturer  will  provide  machinery  that 
will  finish  the  bulk  of  the  fabrics  he  produces,  and  such  occasional  lines 
of  goods  as  he  may  make  that  require  special  or  difficult  treatment,  and 
of  which  the  quantity  is  not  large,  he  will  have  done  outside. 

Advantages  Over  the  Commission  Finisher. 

The  job  finisher,  in  his  general  expense,  has  to  include  a  large  num- 
ber of  items  that  are  already  carried  by  any  manufacturer  contemplating 
doing  his  own  finishing.  He  must  provide  for  partners'  salaries,  bad 
debts,  for  a  wagon  delivery  service,  for  his  business  office  and  its  ex- 
penses and  for  the  salaries  of  the  clerks,  for  one  or  more  outside  men 
or  salesmen,  and,  of  course,  he  also  properly  expects  to  make  a  profit  on 
his  work. 

These  many  and  heavy  expenses  should  all  be  saved  when  a  mill 
does  its  own  finishing,  and,  if  the  plant  is  large  and  the  output  full  and 
steady,  the  manufacturer  may  reasonably  count  that,  with  good  manage- 
ment, and  an  experienced  man  in  charge,  he  can  cut  the  costs  of  his 
finishing  from  one-third  to  one-half  by  doing  it  himself. 

Other  Advantages  in  Mill  Finishing. 

He  may  also  look  forward  to  having  his  goods  finished  more  quickly, 
and  to  the  facilities  which  he  will  have  for  the  speedy  getting  out  of 
samples,  sample  pieces,  and  hurry  orders,  advantages  of  moment  if 
realized. 

In  addition,  he  can  have  a  personal  knowledge  of  the  treatment  his 
different  fabrics  are  receiving,  and  has  also  the  assurance  that  there  is 
no  chance  of  any  special  styles  or  fabrics  that  he  is  working  on  becom- 
ing public  property  before  he  has  fairly  got  them  on  the  market  him- 
self. 


92  SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   FINISHING 


Character  of  Finish  and  Its  Importance. 

I  have  reserved  till  the  last  the  discussion  of  the  most  important  ques- 
tion of  all,  a  question  beside  which  the  nominal  cost  of  the  finishing 
sinks  into  insignificance,  and  that  is,  the  character  of  the  finish  obtained. 

Good  finishing  department  managers  are  very,  very  scarce,  and  about 
the  only  thing  open  for  a  manufacturer  to  do  is  to  take  a  chance  on 
some  one  and  try  him  out,  and  then  keep  on  trying  till  he  gets  a  good 
man,  if,  indeed,  he  ever  gets  one. 

This  is  an  expensive  experience  to  have  to  go  through,  and,  if  he 
begins  by  hiring  away  from  some  one  else  a  man  of  acknowledged 
standing,  he  would  have  to  pay  a  much  higher  price  than  his  business 
would  warrant. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  big  commission  finishers,  who  must 
have  the  best  men,  do  have  them  and  are  able  and  willing  to  pay  them 
high  prices,  and  do  not  let  them  get  away  from  them. 

The  public  finisher  also,  knowing  the  latest  market  requirements, 
can  turn  out  the  finishes  desired  as  soon  as  they  are  called  for,  and 
without  expensive  delays  for  experimenting. 

These  difficulties  have  induced  different  manufacturers,  who  had 
installed  their  own  finishing  departments,  but  who  constantly  found 
themselves  outclassed  by  the  work  of  the  public  finishers,  to  abandon 
them. 

The  difference  between  a  first  class  finish  and  an  inferior  one  will 
readily  mean  a  difference  of  10  per  cent,  in  the  selling  price  of  the 
goods,  and  what  figure  does  a  saving  of  half-a-cent  a  yard,  in  the  cost 
of  the  work,  cut  in  comparison  with  this? 

Let  the  Specialist  Do  the  Finishing. 

Any  one  contemplating  doing  his  own  finishing  may  well  consider 
whether  the  money  that  he  would  have  to  invest  in  the  plant  would  not 
bring  him  in  a  better  return  if  expended  for  looms,  instead  of  plunging 
into  a  branch  of  the  business  that  he  has  no  knowledge  of,  saddling 
himself  with  the  constant  burden  of  finishing  problems  and  difficulties, 
and,  above  all,  running  a  serious  risk  of  having  his  goods  so  indiffer- 
ently finished  as  not  to  command  the  market  price  that  they  otherwise 
should. 

Finishers'  Price  Lists. 

The  large  finishing  establishments  publish,  from  time  to  time, 
printed  price  lists  of  their  charges.  As  it  may  be  of  interest,  I  am  pre- 
senting herewith  one  of  the  price  lists  current  at  this  writing — Janu- 
ary, 1913.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  large  customers  often  get 
material  reductions  from  such  printed  prices  if  their  business,  on  par- 
ticular articles,  is  so  considerable  as  to  be  attractive. 


FINISHERS'    PRICE     LIST 


Class  of  Goods 

Width 

Price 

Surah 

36"  and  40" 

11/2   Cents 

« 

26"  and  27" 

V/4,         '  ' 

•« 

18"  and  20" 

1 

Satin  Brocade  Dress  goods  S.  Lining 

20" 

1%      " 

«i          n             n         it             « 

27" 

1%       " 

«                    tl                         It                 tt                         U 

36" 

2 

Gros  Grain 

36"  and  40" 

1#      " 

i  <         1  1 

27" 

IX      " 

i<         <i 

20" 

1 

Foulard 

36"  and  44 

2 

«  < 

24"  and  26" 

11/2         " 

"       Waterproof 

42"  and  44" 

3 

jt              <t 

36" 

21/2         " 

ti              it 

24"  and  26" 

2 

Tie  Silk  (Crefeld  Fin.) 

36"  and  40" 

3 

it      n          n        n 

*    24" 

21/2        " 

"      "     All  Silk 

36" 

2 

tt           11          U         tl 

24" 

H/2         " 

Fold  and  Paper  per  piece 

25 

Tissue  Paper 

36"  and  40" 

*/'      " 

it         ii 

19"  and  26" 

V4         " 

"Rubbing  only 

1 

Singeing  only 

1 

Napping 

over  50" 

20 

« 

42"  and  44" 

15 

1  1 

36"  and  less 

10 

Moire  Velours 

18"  and  22" 

4 

it         n 

24" 

5 

it         ti 

26"  and  27" 

6 

it         it 

36" 

8 

it         1  1 

44" 

10 

Antique  Velours 

1.8"  and  22" 

6 

«             <  < 

24" 

7 

i  i             it. 

26"  and  27" 

8 

it             it 

36" 

10 

ti             it 

44" 

12 

Moire  Francaise 

18" 

5 

<  i            t  tc 

24" 

6          " 

ti            it 

27" 

7 

it            1  1 

36" 

10 

Moire  Reserve  (Pekin) 

18"    to   24" 

12 

Moire  Antique  (All  Silk) 

18"    to   24" 

10 

it           ti           it      it 

24"    to   30" 

12          " 

it           ii           it      it 

36" 

15          " 

it           ft           (i      n 

44" 

20 

Louisine  Moire.  Moire  Soliel 

20"    to   24" 

10         " 

For  framing  goods  i/^c  per  yard  will  be  charged. 

An  extra  charge  for  Doubling 

and  rolling  on  boards 

or  rollers 

will  be  made. 

No  freight,  express  charges  or 

discount  will  be  allowed 

(OVER) 

(CONTINUED)     FINISHERS'     PRICE     LIST 


Class  of  Goods 
Cotton-Back 


Lining 

Sleeve  Lining 
Knee  Silk  Lining 
Chiffon  Taffeta 


Stripe  or  Fancy  Taffeta 
Fancy  Taffeta 
Millinery  Taffeta 

«  u 

Reg.  Taffeta 
«         i*' 

Umbrella  Taffeta 

it  u 


Messalines 

Duchess 

Peau  de  Cygne 

Peau  de  Soie 

Satin  Majestic 

ii          it 

Armure 

« t 

it 
Faille 

<  i 
Bengaline 

ii 
Tussah 


Width 


Price 


40"  and  42"  3y2  Cents 

36"  3          ' ' 

27"  and  30"  2V4      " 

20"  and  22"  1%      " 

27"  and  30" Slipper  Satin  3         " 

Furback  Finish — c  extra. 


30" 

2 

40" 

3 

9" 

1 

36"  and  40" 

1V2 

26"  and  27" 

1V4 

20" 

1 

36" 

H/2 

20"  and  26" 

U4 

36" 

19"  and  27" 

1 

36" 

IK 

20"  and  27" 

1 

48" 

3 

36" 

2 

24" 

1% 

42" 

2 

36" 

1^2 

26"  and  27" 

1% 

18"  and  20" 

1 

36"  and  40" 

2 

26"  and  27" 

ll/2 

18"  and  20" 

1 

36"  and  40 

V/2 

26"  and  27" 

i1/* 

18"  and  20" 

i 

36"  and  40" 

1% 

26"  and  27" 

1V4 

18"  and  20" 

i 

36"  and  40" 

2 

26"  and  27" 

1% 

18"  and  20" 

1 

36"  and  40" 

2 

26"  and  27" 

1% 

18"  and  20" 

i 

36"  and  40" 

2 

26"  and  27" 

1% 

18"  and  20" 

1 

36"  and  40" 

21/0 

26"  and  27" 

2 

19"  and  21" 

1V4 

36"  and  40" 

2 

26"  and  27" 

11/2 

X 

SHOULD  A  MILL  DO  ITS  OWN  DYEING? 


When  silk  mills  are  small,  or  of  moderate  size,  no  thought  of  oper- 
ating a  dye-house  comes  into  the  minds  of  the  owners,  who  are  only 
too  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  the  excellent  dyeing  facilities,  and  rea- 
sonable prices,  afforded  by  the  commission  dyers. 

With  increasing  size,  and  with  keener  competition  to  meet,  which 
necessitates  constant  study  as  to  how  savings  can  be  effected,  many 
manufacturers  will  begin  to  consider  this  possibility. 

They  observe  the  great  and  steady  growth  of  certain  large  dyeing 
firms,  and  see  the  huge  establishments  that  they  conduct,  and  are  thus 
apt  to  believe  that  there  is  a  large  profit  in  the  prices  that  they  pay 
them  for  their  dyeing,  though  really  the  net  profits  may  be  relatively 
very  small. 

What  a  Manufacturer  Expects  to  Gain. 

Without  any  real  data  to  guide  him,  a  manufacturer  may  jump  at 
the  conclusion  that  he  could  save  20  to  40  per  cent,  of  his  dyeing  bills 
by  doing  the  work  himself. 

He  argues  that  a  large  part  of  the  general  expense,  which  the 
dyer  has  to  charge  on  his  costs,  is  already  paid  for  in  his  own  organi- 
zation. There  will  need  to  be  no  provision  for  partners'  salaries,  bad 
debts,  soliciting  business,  or  for  office  management,  with  but  little  for 
transportation,  and  that  a  host  of  smaller  expenses,  from  subscribing 
to  local  charities  to  watering  the  streets,  will  have  already  been  pro- 
vided for. 

He  may  also  call  to  mind,  over  the  years  of  his  experience,  work 
done  by  the  dyer  that  has  been  unsatisfactory,  and  he  may  recollect 
many  lots  that  were  shady,  off-color,  "sticky,"  hairy,  streaky,  tender, 
irregularly  weighted,  weighted  above  or  below  the  weighting  ordered, 


96  SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   DYEING 

of  slow  or  late  delivery,  poor  color  matches,  damaged  skeins,  mixed 
silk,  or  what  not. 

All  of  these  drawbacks  he  believes  he  can  overcome  if  he  has  his 
own  dye-works,  and  he  also  thinks  of  the  convenience  of  having  a  dye- 
house  on  the  premises,  where  he  can  have  orders  quickly  and  exactly 
rilled,  give  such  special  instructions  as  he  may  desire,  and  get  out  any 
needed  sample  lots  in  short  order. 

Volume  of  His  Dyeing  Bills. 

His  dyeing  bills  may  have  been  large.  Supposing  that  he  has  a  plant 
of  500  looms,  and  is  working  exclusively  on  skein-dyed  silk,  he  might 
dye  up,  approximately,  100,000  pounds  of  thrown  silk  per  year,  which 
would  probably  be  dyed  in  a  variety  of  weightings,  but  most  largely  in 
1 6/1 8  oz.,  bright,  for  organzine,  and  22/24  oz->  bright,  for  tram,  in 
colors. 

Presuming  these  weightings  to  represent  the  average  of  his  uses, 
and  allowing  that  half  of  the  silk  used  was  tram  and  half  organzine, 
we  can  approximate  what  the  amount  of  his  dyeing  bills  would  be. 

The  50,000  pounds  of  organzine,  weighted  to  16/18  oz.  in  colors, 
would  be  charged  for  at  the  list  price  of  60  cents  a  pound,  amounting 
to  $30,000.00.  The  same  amount  of  colored  tram,  weighted  to  22/24 
oz.,  and  listed  at  $1.05  per  pound,  would  amount  to  $52,500.00,  mak- 
ing a  total  dyeing  bill  for  the  year  of  $82,500.00,  at  list  prices. 

Customary  Discounts. 

A  discount  from  the  list  prices  is  usually  allowed  by  the  dyers, 
which  may  vary  according  to  the  standing  of  the  customer,  the  volume 
of  his  business,  and  whether  his  orders  are  in  fairly  large  lots  or  in  a 
multiplicity  of  small  ones. 

For  good  customers,  this  discount  may  be,  say,  10  per  cent,  on 
colors  and  15  per  cent,  on  blacks.  Certain  dyeing  charges,  such  as 
those  for  fast  alizarine  dye,  ombre  or  shaded  dye,  moire  finish,  steam 
stretching,  or  extra  lustre,  may  be  charged  for  net,  without  discount. 

Houses  using  great  quantities  of  some  few  particular  weightings, 
such,  for  instance,  as  are  ordered  by  certain  firms  that  specialize  in 
black  silks,  may  have  some  further  reduction  made  to  them. 

Dyers'  Price  Lists. 

It  may  here  be  noted  that  a  dyer's  price  list  by  no  means  represents 
the  relative  cost  to  him  of  the  various  dyes  and  weightings.  It  just 
grew  up,  and  convenient  gradations  were  made,  from  one  weighting  to 
another,  by  the  different  dyers,  in  which  the  measure  of  the  cost  was 
modified  by  the  willingness  of  the  customers  to  pay.  Different  dyers 
had  somewhat  different  lists,  but  they  finally  got  together  and  united 
on  one  uniform  price  list,  which  has  since  formed  the  basis  of  prac- 
tically all  the  skein-silk  dyeing  transactions.  Some  of  these  list  prices 
are  regarded  by  the  dyers  as  very  profitless,  others  are  more  than  satis- 


SKEIN     DYERS'     PRICE     LIST 


Boil-cfl,  ordinary,    per  Ib $  .12 

Boil-off,  scroupe _ 15 

P.  D.  Brights.  10  Ibs.  or  over .20 

P.  D.  Brights,  less  than  10  Ibs , ...       25' 

14-16  Tannin  Weighted  Brigbts » .45 

TIN  WEIGHTED 


BLACKS 

Harder  Gain,  per  Ib 


BRIGHTS 


.60 

18-20 

75 

20-22 

.      .90 

22-24 

1.05 

24-26 

.*    1.25 

26-28  
28-30  
30-32  

.  1.40 
„  1.55 
»,?• 

TIN  WEIGHTED  TWIST 

30-32 $1-70 

32-34 1.90 

34-36 .* 2.10 

36-38....  2.40' 


P.  D  . 
14-16 
16-18. 
18-20 
20-22. 
22-24  , 
24-2  J.. 
26-28. 
28-30  . 


UMBRELLA  DYES 
Brights  and  Souples 


$  .50 

.60 
.70 
.85 
1.00 
1.15 
1.35 
1.50 
165 


P.  D 

14-16 

16-18 

18-20 

20-22 

22-24 

24-26 

26-28 

2830 

30-32 

32-34 

34-36 

36-40 

40-44 


SPUN  AND  SCHAPPE 

P.  D - 

16-18 .• 

18-20 : 

20-22 

22-24 

24-26. 

26-28...... 


$  .45 
.50 

.  .60 
.  .70 
.  .80 
.  .95 

1.10 
.  1.20 

1.30 
.  1.40 
.  1.50 
.  1.60 

1.80 
.  2.00 


$  .45 
.50 

.      .60 
.      .70 
.      .85 
1.00 
1.10 


TAILORING  AND 

HATBAND  DYES 

P.  D.  Brights $  .50 

14-16        " ..      .65 

P.  D.  Sonples - 50 

18-20        "      .65 

20-22        "        „ 75 

2Z-24        "  .90 


28-30 1.20 

30-32 1.30 

32-36 1.4Q 

36-40 ...  1.60 


SPUN  AND  SILK  TWIST 
"SPECIAL  BLACK" 

28-30 $1.70 

30-32 , 1.85 

32-36 2.00 

36-40 225 

40-45 2.50 

45-50 „ ...  2.75 


TUSSAH 

P.  D ;... 

16-18  Special  Blue  Black  


$.45 
.75 


SOUPLES 

P.  D 

16-18  Sugar  Weighted 

16-18  Tannin  Weighted 

18-20 

20,22  , 


ORGANZINE 


-$.25 

35 

35 

45 

55 

22-24 75 

24-26 90 

26-28 1.10 

28-30 .„ 125 


Double  Dye,  extra  per  pound $  .15 

Triple  Dye,        '    25 


TAILORING  DYES 
ACID  AND  BURNING  TEST 


TUSSAH 


Boil-off 

Colors 

Colors,  fall  bleached 


$.20 

.50 

75 


P.  D.  Bright.. 

14-16 

P.  D.  Souple 
16-18    "  ' 
18-20    " 
20-22    " 
22-24    " 


$  .45 
.60 
.50 
.60 
.70 
.80 
.90 


UMBRELLA  DYES 


VELVET  DYES 

Spun  or  Schapp« 

Extra  for  bleaching -., 


Brtght,  extra  per  Ib.... 
Sonple,     "        "    "  .... 


5  shades  .    . 

5-10    "    

10-15  "  

15-20  "    

20-30  "  

30-40  "  .... 


OMBRES 


$.35 
.15 


$.75 
1.00 

1.25 
1.50 
1.75 
2.00 


MOIRE  FINISH 


Bright,  extra  per  Ib.... 
Sonple,    "        "    "  ... 


Steam  stretching  per  Ib 

Kxtra  Brilliant   or  Metallic. 


SOUPLES 


OMBRES  WEIGHTED 

14-16  ExfttCper  Ib $  .25 


ALIZARINE  DYES 

10  Ibs.  or  over 

Less  than  10  Ibs 


P.  D 

18-20 

20-22 

22-26 

26-28 

28-30 

30-32 

32-36 


$  .10 
.     .15 


$  .10 
.25 


....  $  .45 

50 

60 


$  1.25 
1.40 


MOIRE  FINISH,  extra  per  Ib 10 

Steam  Stretching  OS 

Extra  Brilliant,  or  Metallic   .10 


44-48 „ 

48-50 

50-56 .:.. 

56-60 

TERMS— 30  days  net   or  1  per 
for  cash  within  10  days. 


90 

1.00 

1.05 

1.20 

.........  1.40 

1.60 

1.80 

1.90 

2.25 

2.50 

it.  discount 


98  SHOULD    A    MILL   DO    ITS   DYEING 


factory ;  the  average,  however,  is  what  they  consider,  and  that  average 
is  fairly  profitable. 

The  skein-dye  price  list  which  is  presented  here  is  one  issued  by  one 
of  the  great  silk  dyers,  under  date  of  June  ist,  1912 : 

So  far  as  the  public  knows,  each  dyer  can  make  what  discounts  he 
pleases  from  the  list,  and  everyone  would  be  interested  to  know  just 
what  discounts  his  competitors  were  actually  receiving,  but  probably 
few  receive  appreciably  better  terms  than  the  percentages  above 
quoted. 

Allowing  that  our  manufacturer  enjoys  this  10%  discount,  his  dye- 
ing bill  would  then  be  $82,500.00,  less  $8,250.00,  or  $74,500.00  net  a 
year.  If,  therefore,  he  argues  that  he  should  make  a  profit  of,  say,  30 
per  cent,  by  doing  his  own  dyeing,  amounting  to  the  tidy  sum  of  $22,- 
375.00  on  the  above  business,  he  is  very  likely  to  decide  that  he  should 
put  in  his  own  dyeing  plant,  and  may  begin  forthwith  to  cast  about  for 
a  suitable  man  to  take  charge  of  it. 

Whatever  man  he  might  consult  would  probably  be  interested  in 
getting  the  position,  and  would  be  very  likely  to  overstate  the  possible 
profits  and  to  minimize  the  drawbacks,  and,  as  to  the  ultimate  amount 
of  the  total  necessary  investment  for  plant  and  other  expenses,  and  as 
to  the  actual  annual  charge  of  conducting  the  business,  such  a  man 
might  have  very  incorrect  ideas. 

Location  for  a  Dye-house. 

Supposing  that  the  manufacturer  concludes  to  go  ahead  with  the 
project,  the  first  question,  of  course,  is  where  to  locate  the  dye-house. 
He  may  have  expected  to  have  it  built  on  land  adjoining  his  mill,  but 
he  will  find  at  once  that  the  question  of  water  is  the  principal  and  domi- 
nating factor.  He  must  have  a  bountiful  supply  of  water,  of  a  suitable 
character,  procurable  at  little  or  no  cost — except  for  the  pumping, 
etc. — and  the  amount  required  in  silk  dyeing  is  unbelievable. 

Importance  of  the  Water  Question. 

From  time  immemorial  dyers  have  settled  in  certain  favored  locali- 
ties where  the  water  was  of  a  superior  character,  and  to  this  day  the 
excellence  of  the  work  produced  at  many  such  places  is  largely  at- 
tributed to  the  water. 

While  modern  methods  of  water  rectification  have  reached  high 
efficiency,  yet,  none  the  less,  a  full  supply  of  suitable  water  is  a  sine 
qua  non.  If  such  a  supply  is  to  be  found  where  the  mill  is  located,  or 
can  be  conducted  to  it  from  a  distance  without  too  great  expense,  the 
problem  will  be  much  simplified,  but  this  is  unlikely  to  be  the  case,  and 
the  manufacturer  must  look  further  afield  for  a  location. 

When  finally  selected,  it  may  be  on  the  margin  of  a  lake,  pond  or 
stream,  and,  in  connection  with  such  natural  supply,  he  is  pretty  sure 
of  having  to  sink  numerous  wells,  then  or  later,  either  to  supplement 
the  ordinary  available  flow,  or  as  a  reserve  at  times  of  low  water. 


SHOULD    A    MILL    DO    ITS    DYEING  99 


In  case  the  water  to  be  found  at  short  distances  below  the  surface 
is  pure  and  suitable,  these  wells  need  not  be  deep,  but  if  this  upper 
flow  is  unsuitable,  then  expensive  deep  wells  may  have  to  be  sunk. 
Deep  well  pumps,  too,  are  sometimes  very  troublesome  to  keep  in  order, 
so  it  may  be  well  to  raise  the  water  by  pneumatic  pressure,  which  is  a 
method  now  much  used. 

Impurities  in  Water. 

In  connection  with  the  water  supply,  extensive  tanks  or  cisterns 
in  which  to  permit  the  water  to  settle,  when  rains  have  made  it  turbid, 
are  often  provided.  There  may  also  be  tankage  needed  in  which  to 
chemically  treat  waters  that  contain  undesirable  matters  in  solution, 
and  filtering  facilities  may  have  to  be  provided  on  a  large  scale. 

The  suspended  matter  in  the  water  may  be  either  organic  or  min- 
eral. Among  the  mineral  elements  frequently  found  in  water  are 
silica,  alumina,  oxide  of  iron,  lime,  magnesia,  potash,  soda,  sulphuric 
acid  (in  the  form  of  sulphates  of  lime,  etc.),  chlorine,  calcium  carbon- 
ate, and  carbonic  acid,  free,  as  well  as  combined  in  bicarbonates,  etc. 

The  presence  of  elements  such  as  the  above  in  the  water,  in  appre- 
ciable quantity,  may  cause  much  trouble  to  the  dyers,  and  means  must 
often  be  employed  for  neutralizing  them.  Constant  tests  are  neces- 
sary of  the  waters  being  used,  as  their  condition  frequently  changes. 

Hardness  of  water  is  due  principally  to  its  containing  salts  of  lime 
and  magnesia,  which,  in  conjunction  with  the  fatty  acids  of  soaps,  form 
insoluble  stearates,  palmitates,  oleates,  etc.,  which  are  extremely  ob- 
jectionable. 

Land,  Buildings,  Etc. 

Considerable  land  is  required  for  dye-works'  purposes,  as  a  variety 
of  buildings  are  necessary,  mostly  one-storied,  and  there  should  be  rail- 
way trackage  into  the  property,  and  considerable  yard  room  for 
handling  wagons  and  teams.  Ample  coal  storage  space  is  a  requisite, 
and  there  should  be  proper  stabling  accommodations,  and  suitable  and 
commodious  storage  houses  for  the  various  acids,  mordanting  or 
weighting  materials,  coloring  substances,  and  chemicals,  so  largely 
required  in  dyeing  operations,  with  proper  arrangements  for  handling 
them  mechanically,  as  far  as  possible. 

Then,  there  are  the  dye-houses  proper,  and  a  different  dye-house  is 
usually  provided  for  the  black  dyeing.  The  boiling-off,  or  stripping, 
of  the  silk  may  be  done  in  a  separate  building,  or  in  a  wing  of  the  color 
dye-house. 

Power  and  Steam  Required. 

The  boilers,  engines,  and  pumps  must  be  housed  in  still  other  build- 
ings, and,  while  the  power  required  is  moderate,  the  demands  on  the 
boilers  are  excessive.  Steam,  everywhere,  is  needed  in  immense  vol- 
ume, and  the  boiler  plant,  and  the  piping  connected  therewith,  will  cost 
much  money. 


ioo  SHOULD   A    MILL   DO   ITS   DYEING 

It  is  desirable  that  only  anthracite  coal  be  employed  as  fuel,  as  the 
sooty  smoke  from  bituminous  coal  would  injuriously  affect  any  light 
colored  silk  with  which  it  might  come  in  contact. 

The  Operations  of  Skein  Dyeing. 

It  may  be  convenient  to,  describe  here  briefly  what  the  usual  opera- 
tions are  in  skein  dyeing,  without  attempting  to  go  much  into  detail. 

Before  the  silk  is  sent  to  the  dyer,  it  is  thrown  or  twisted,  and  the 
thrown  silk  reaches  the  dyer  in  bundles,  usually  weighing  about  20 
pounds.  The  dyer  stores  the  silk  until  the  manufacturer  orders  it 
dyed.  The  dyeing  ordered  may  be  pure-dye  or  weighted,  bright  or 
souple,  color  or  black,  etc. 

Raw-silk  contains  a  natural  gum,  averaging,  in  the  case  of  differ- 
ent Asiatic  silks,  from  about  18  to  22  per  cent,  of  its  weight,  and  for 
European  yellow  silk  from  about  22  to  26  per  cent.  During  the  throw- 
ing process,  certain  additions  of  solube  soap  and  oil  are  made  to  the 
weight  of  the  silk,  usually  aggregating  from  2  to  5  per  cent. 

After  the  opening  up  of  the  bundles,  and  the  weighing  or  counting 
out  of  the  quantity  of  silk  to  be  dyed,  the  first  operation  in  dyeing  con- 
sists in  the  "boiling-off"  of  this  soluble  gum,  soap,  and  oil,  the  process 
being  also  known  as  "stripping." 

This  is  effected  by  working  the  skeins  for  an  hour  or  two  in  a 
hot  bath,  in  which  olive-oil  soap  has  been  dissolved.  A  second  bath 
may  also  be  used,  the  second  bath  of  one  lot  being  made  the  first  bath  for 
the  next  lot.  The  silk,  after  having  been  thus  processed  and  rinsed, 
is  brilliant  in  appearance  and  of  a  light  creamy  color,  and  is  known  as 
boiled-off  silk.  If  the  silk  is  for  whites,  it  may  be  treated  in  three 
baths,  and  put  through  a  bleaching  process  in  addition. 

Should  the  silk  have  been  ordered  "pure-dye,"  it  is  immediately 
passed  on  to  a  vat  in  which  the  necessary  mordants  and  coloring  mat- 
ters have  been  dissolved,  and,  after  being  colored  in  this,  has  no  more 
wet  processes  to  go  through. 

If  weighting  has  been  ordered,  it  is  necessary  to  add  the  loading 
to  the  boiled-off  silk  before  the  coloring  is  done. 

Silk  has  the  capacity  for  absorbing  and  retaining  considerable 
amounts  of  various  substances  which  are  used  for  giving  to  it  added 
bulk  and  weight,  and  when  these  agents  have  been  employed  the  silk 
is  said  to  have  been  weighted. 

Various  Weighting  Agents. 

Some,  which  have  been  largely  employed  at  various  times,  are 
sugar,  tannins  of  different  sorts — gall,  sumac,  gambier,  etc. — and  salts 
of  various  metals — tin,  lead,  iron,  aluminium,  etc.  At  the  present  time, 
the  salt  of  tin  known  as  stannic  chloride  is  greatly  used  in  the  weight- 
ing of  silk  that  is  to  be  dyed  into  colors,  and  an  iron  base  is  used  in 
preparing  the  blue-black  shade  of  black  silk  so  generally  used. 


SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   DYEING  101 

The  tin  liquor  used  in  weighting  is  expensive,  and  care  must  be  ex- 
ercised not  to  waste  any,  and  to  recover  all  possible  from  that  which 
has  been  used.  It  is  prepared  by  dissolving  tin  metal,  in  granulated 
form,  in  a  solution  of  muriatic  acid,  dangerous  hydrochloric  acid  gases 
being  given  off  during  the  process,  for  the  carrying  away  of  which 
special  arrangements  must  be  provided.  The  resulting  solution  is  col- 
orless, except  for  the  possible  suggestion  of  a  greenish  tinge.  The  vats 
in  which  it  is  used  have  to  be  lined  with  lead,  and  the  workmen  who  are 
in  attendance  use  india-rubber  gloves.  This  weighting  agent  can  be 
bought  in  fluid  form  or  in  the  form  of  crystals,  soluble  in  water,  but  the 
big  dyers  prepare  it  for  themselves. 

Loading  the  Silk. 

For  each  two  ounces  of  weighting,  the  silk  is  given  one  pass 
through  a  tin  bath.  That  is,  when  the  boiled-off  silk  skeins  are  entered 
into  the  bath,  and  worked  for  the  proper  time,  the  12  or  13  ounces  of 
boiled-off  silk  remaining  from  the  pound  of  thrown  silk  absorb  about 
two  ounces  of  the  tin  salt,  which  would  then  be  known  as  14  oz. 
weighting,  the  weighted  silk  still  being  without  color. 

The  silk  is  removed  from  the  tin  bath  and  wrung  out,  generally 
being  whizzed  in  a  hydro-extractor  lined  with  hard  rubber,  and  the 
expressed  liquor  is  recovered  and  pumped  back  for  further  use. 

Then  the  skeins  are  washed,  a  good  form  of  washing  machine  being 
one  in  which  the  silk  is  held  at  a  stretch  between  two  sets  of  perforated 
porcelain  rollers,  which  are  made  to  revolve  slowly,  and,  while  thus 
held,  water  is  squirted  through  the  skeins  from  the  perforated  rollers 
as  well  as  being  squirted  against  the  skeins  from  other  sources.  The 
washing  is  most  thorough,  perfect  rivers  of  water  flowing  through  and 
over  the  skeins,  the  washing  assisting  in  fixing  the  tin  salt  in  the  fibre, 
as  well  as  preparing  the  silk  for  the  next  operation. 

Insufficient  or  faulty  washing  is  the  cause  of  much  of  the  trouble 
that  is  experienced  at  times  with  weighted  silks,  for  if,  after  the  pro- 
cesses are  finally  completed,  any  free  acid  remain  in  the  fibre,  it  will 
not  take  long  for  the  silk  to  rot.  When  a  dyer  has  not  great  quantities 
of  water  at  his  command,  or  when  his  water  costs  him  appreciably, 
there  is  always  a  temptation  to  slight  this  washing,  with  a  consequent 
risk  of  trouble  for  his  customer. 

After  the  washing,  the  silk  is  wrung  out  and  then  entered  in  a  bath 
of  phosphate  of  soda.  This  treatment  makes  the  silk  once  more  receptive 
to  the  tin,  and,  after  another  washing,  it  is  once  more  treated  to  a  tin 
bath,  taking  on  two  ounces  more  of  the  metal  and  becoming  now  14/16 
oz.  weight. 

Thus,  alternate  baths  of  tin  and  soda  are  employed,  with  thorough 
washings  between,  and  the  weight  is  raised  2  ounces  at  a  time  to  16/18, 
18/20,  20/22,  22/24  oz.,  etc. 

The  limit  of  this  weighting  is  determined  by  how  much  mechanical 


102  SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   DYEING 

stress  or  injury  the  silk  can  stand  in  the  enormous  amount  of  working 
that  it  experiences  in  these  continued  processes,  as  well  as  by  the  pro- 
portion that  the  weighting  bears  to  the  fibre.  If  this  is  too  great,  the 
silk  may  be  injured  or  destroyed,  either  at  the  time  of  dyeing  or  by 
subsequent  deterioration  of  the  fibre. 

Weightings  of  14/16  oz.  for  organzine,  and  20/22  oz.  for  tram,  in 
colors,  are,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  about  as  high  as  should  be  gone 
to  if  goods  are  to  stay  sound  on  the  shelf  and  in  the  garment,  for  a 
proper  period  of  time.  Higher  weightings  than  these  are  universally 
used,  but  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  silk. 

As  the  mordants  used  for  blacks  are  of  a  different  and  less  de- 
structive character,  much  higher  weightings  can  there  be  got. 

This  whole  matter  of  weighting  silk  is  a  high-class  chemical  and  me- 
chanical art,  and  requires  the  most  complete  equipment,  and  the  most 
experienced  and  conscientious  management,  if  it  is  to  be  properly  done. 

Other  treatments,  and  additional  weighting  agents,  are  also  em- 
ployed in  connection  with  the  above  described  processes,  but  it  is  not 
necessary  to  go  into  them  here.  The  tin  and  phosphate  dips  can  also  be 
given  by  the  use  of  hydro-extractors  instead  of  vats,  with  much  ad- 
vantage in  the  matter  of  cost  and  time,  and  lessening  also  the  stress  upon 
the  silk. 

Special  Dyeing  Operations. 

Silk  from  which  all  of  the  gum  has  been  discharged  is  designated  as 
"bright."  In  dyeing  "souple"  silk,  the  major  portion  of  the  gum  is 
allowed  to  remain  on  the  fibre,  which  consequently  gives  it  greater 
firmness,  and  silk  treated  in  this  way  has  a  characteristic  touch,  and 
has  much  less  lustre  than  the  "bright"  silk. 

In  ombre  dyeing,  a  series  of  graduated  shades  of  the  same  color  is 
dyed,  so  that  shaded  effects  can  be  produced.  This  work  requires  nice 
management  to  get  the  proper  graduations,  which  may  number  from  5 
to  40.  Fast  dyes  are  made  from  alizarine  colors,  which  are  expensive, 
and  the  silk  is  not  weighted. 

In  the  dyeing  of  blue-black,  the  mordanting  agents  used  increase  the 
weight  considerably,  the  12/13  ounces  of  boiled-off  silk  finishing  up 
on  the  first  treatment  as  16  oz.,  and  such  silk  is  frequently  represented 
as  being  pure-dye,  because  the  color  cannot  be  produced  in  any  other 
way.  Be  this  as  it  may,  a  pure-dye  silk  should  be  pure  silk  fibre,  plus 
a  negligible  weight  of  coloring  matter,  and  if  silk  has  had  added  to  it 
4  ounces  in  the  pound,  of  iron,  it  is  certainly  a  loaded  silk,  whether  the 
weighting  has  been  added  to  it  incidentally  or  intentionally. 

Special  dyes  are  prepared  for  special  purposes,  and  dyes  for  um- 
brella silks,  linings,  hat  bands,  velvets,  tailoring  purposes,  etc.,  etc.,  are 
regularly  produced.  Many  classes  of  dye-stuffs  must  be  employed, 
according  to  the  colors  wanted,  and  the  conditions  to  be  met,  and  a 
dyer,  to  be  abreast  of  the  times,  must  be  a  high-class  chemist  and 
colorist. 


SHOULD    A    MILL    DO    ITS   DYEING  103 


Coloring  and  Finishing. 

After  the  weighting  comes  the  coloring  of  the  weighted  silk,  and 
the  washing  off  and  brightening  of  it.  Where  silk  has  been  much 
worked,  as  in  the  case  of  heavily  weighted  blacks,  it  is  apt  to  be  harsh 
and  dull,  and  a  bath  with  oil  and  soap  may  be  employed  to  render 
it  supple  and  lustrous.  The  drying  follows,  which  must  be  carefully 
and  judiciously  done. 

Other  processes,  having  for  their  object  the  smoothing  out  and 
stretching  of  the  skeins,  and  bringing  up  the  lustre  of  the  silk,  are 
steam-stretching,  lustreing,  stringing,  etc.,  after  which  the  skeins  are 
twisted  into  rolls,  carefully  bundled  and  packed,  and  are  ready  for 
shipping. 

Bleaching. 

When  silk  is  to  be  dyed  in  light  shades,  or  white,  a  bleaching  process 
may  be  necessary.  For  this  purpose,  specially  constructed  brick  cham- 
bers must  be  provided,  in  which  the  silk  is  exposed  to  the  fumes  of 
burning  sulphur.  A  better  and  more  permanent  bleach  is  produced  by 
the  use  of  the  peroxides  of  hydrogen  and  sodium,  but  these  processes 
are  very  much  more  expensive  than  the  sulphur  bleaching. 

Dye-House  Equipment. 

The  equipment  of  the  dye-houses  will  include  endless  tubs  and  vats 
of  copper,  or  of  wood  with  copper  or  canvas  lining,  no  iron  being  al- 
lowed to  come  in  contact  with  the  liquors.  Lead-lined  vats  are  needed 
for  the  tin  liquors,  and  a  large  quantity  of  copper  vessels  and  utensils 
must  be  supplied. 

To  the  vats  will  be  carried,  through  suitable  pipes,  water,  steam, 
boil-off  liquors,  or  mordants,  as  required,  and  ample  sewerage  will  be 
needed.  Floors  should  be  of  special  construction,  channelled  to  drain 
off  waste  waters  quickly,  and  covered  by  suitable  gratings.  Ventila- 
tion is  important,  and  special  arrangements  for  keeping  the  dye-houses 
clear  of  steam  are  desirable. 

In  the  power  transmission,  belts  should  be  avoided  where  subject 
to  damage  from  dampness  and  steam. 

Sewerage  Difficulties. 

The  question  of  sewerage  is  one  of  steadily  growing  importance. 
Year  by  year  the  objection  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  to  permitting 
dye-house  wastes  to  run  off  into  water  courses  is  becoming  more  pro- 
nounced. It  seems  only  a  question  of  time  till  the  burden  of  disposing, 
in  some  other  way,  of  their  waste  waters  will  be  thrown  upon  the  dyers, 
and  it  will  mean  a  serious  additional  expense  to  their  business. 

Color  Matching,  and  Lighting. 

Good  lighting  is  imperative,  and,  where  color  matching  is  done, 
any  artificial  light  used  should  approach  as  near  to  the  quality  of  day- 


104  SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   DYEING 

light  as  possible.  A  special  room  for  color  matching  is  needed,  so  ar- 
ranged as  not  to  be  subject  to  the  influence  of  any  reflected  light. 
Sometimes  such  rooms,  and  everything  in  them,  are  covered  with  black 
cloth,  and  lighted  by  a  skylight  in  the  roof  so  as  to  avoid  any  trouble 
from  reflected  light. 

Other  Facilities  Needed. 

The  drying  room  must  be  of  such  construction  and  arrangement 
that  the  process  proceeds  with  precision  and  regularity,  as  irregular 
drying  will  affect  the  colors. 

There  must  be  a  first-class  laboratory,  provided  with  every  kind  of 
equipment  for  testing  and  experimenting. 

Vats  for  the  storage  of  liquors,  and  pumps  for  circulating  them  will 
be  needed. 

How  Soap  is  Handled. 

Soap  is  used  on  a  large  scale  and  the  big  establishments  make  their 
own,  and  this  entails  much  tankage,  and  a  considerable  number  of  con- 
tainers on  trucks,  into  which  the  liquid  soap  is  run  to  solidify,  and, 
after  it  solidifies,  the  sides  and  ends  of  the  containers  can  be  removed 
and  the  soap  cut  up  in  bars  and  stored  away  to  dry. 

The  waste  soap  can  also  be  recovered  and  worked  up  again,  and, 
though  it  is  dark  and  streaked  with  all  sorts  of  colors,  it  can  be  used 
for  blacks. 

Recovery  of  Tin. 

In  great  dye  works,  the  waste  waters  from  the  washing  machines, 
containing  some  of  the  tin,  are  led  into  a  series  of  underground  cis- 
terns, where  the  tin  is  precipitated  with  lime,  and  the  precipitate  is  then 
dried,  and,  by  smelting  it,  the  tin  is  recovered  and  used  over  again. 
Such  economies  are  not  practicable  except  for  very  large  concerns. 

A  fire-proof  silk  vault  is  a  requisite,  and  ample  space  must  be  al- 
lowed for  the  receiving  and  shipping  of  the  silk. 

Special  Machines. 

The  labor  of  turning  silk  by  hand  is  considerable,  and  there  are 
many  machines  that  do  this  work  satisfactorily,  but  they  are  rather 
infrequently  used  in  silk  dye-houses. 

Special  machinery,  also,  is  built  for  dyeing  cotton  in  skeins  and  in 
cops.  Many  of  the  other  machines  needed  have  already  been  referred 
to,  among  them  being  the  hydro-extractors,  of  which  a  number  will  be 
required. 

Methods  of  Water  Extraction. 

Water  may  be  mechanically  removed  from  textiles  by  wringing, 
squeezing,  and  hydro-extracting.  Grothe  is  quoted  as  giving  in  his 
"Appretur  der  Gewebe,"  1882,  page  616,  a  series  of  comparative  tests 


SHOULD   A    MILL   DO   ITS   DYEING  105 

of  the  amount  of  absorbed  water  removed  from  silks  by  these  three 
agencies,  as  follows:  (The  hydro-extractors  in  these  tests  were  run 
for  15  minutes.) 

Silk  piece  goods — Wringing,  45-4% 

Squeezing,  7M% 

Hydro-Extracting,  77-8% 

Silk  Yarns —          Wringing,  44-5% 

Squeezing,  69.7% 

Hydro-Extracting,  75-5% 

Moisture  may  also  be  removed  by  vacuum  suction,  and  this  is  very 
suitable  for  light  fabrics,  and  is  quicker  than  hydro-extracting. 

Piece  Dyeing  and  the  Equipment  Needed. 

When  piece  dyeing  is  to  be  undertaken,  it  has  its  own  difficulties, 
and,  while  much  of  the  equipment  is  similar  to  that  needed  for  skein 
dyeing,  it  requires  a  lot  of  machinery  suitable  for  handling  goods  in 
the  piece,  as  well  as  a  full  equipment  of  finishing  machinery  for  treat- 
ing them  after  they  are  colored. 

Thus,  one  would  need  vats  for  boiling-off,  bleaching,  and  coloring, 
with  dye- jigs  and  other  arrangements  for  handling  the  pieces  me- 
chanically; dryers  of  the  cylinder  or  can  types,  or  drying  cylinders  in 
connection  with  steam  pipes,  or  tentering  frames ;  apparatus  for  finish- 
ing cotton-back  satins,  nets,  etc.,  and  spreading  or  smoothing  rolls  and 
appliances. 

For  the  finishing,  there  will  be  needed  spray  machines ;  paper  dry- 
ers; cylinders;  breakers;  polishing,  singeing,  doubling,  calendering, 
moireing,  and  folding  and  measuring  machines. 

All  this  means  a  very  costly  equipment. 

The  ease  with  which  the  goods  can  be  damaged  in  piece  dyeing  is 
surprising.  The  cheap  labor  commonly  employed  is  responsible,  also, 
for  many  of  these  damages — "crows'  feet/'  "chafe  marks,"  torn  sel- 
vages, etc. — which  are  so  provoking  and  expensive  to  manufacturers. 

Facilities  Required. 

Of  course,  every  dye-house  will  not  have  or  need  all  the  equipment 
and  facilities  referred  to  here,  but  the  big  dyers  do  have  them,  and  it 
is  by  the  use  of  these  facilities  that  they  make  whatever  profit  they  do 
on  their  operations. 

The  man  who  wants  to  dye  his  own  silk  must,  in  any  event,  provide 
most  of  them  if  he  wants  his  work  done  right,  and  the  mere  recital  of 
them  shows  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking. 


io6  SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   DYEING 

Water  Requirements. 

As  to  the  quantity  of  water  needed,  it  may  be  said  that  one  of  the 
great  silk  dye-houses,  when  dyeing  20,000  to  25,000  pounds  of  skein 
silk  a  day,  consumes  the  almost  incredible  volume  of  7,000,000  gallons 
of  water  in  the  processes. 

Attendant  Risks  and  Drawbacks. 

Instead  of  effecting  economies  by  doing  one's  own  dyeing,  the  re- 
sult may  be  quite  the  reverse.  There  will  be  an  expensive  organiza- 
tion with  high-priced  chemical  talent ;  much  apparatus  and  machinery 
standing  at  times;  no  one  to  fall  back  on  for  mistakes  or  damages; 
liability  for  injury  to  workmen ;  new  and  vexing  problems  to  take  the 
time  and  thought  of  the  firm  away  from  other  parts  of  their  business ; 
the  sinking  of  large  sums  of  capital  which  could  be  more  profitably  em- 
ployed elsewhere;  and  the  inability  to  conduct  many  processes  on  a 
sufficiently  large  scale  to  be  profitable. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  various  branches  of  dyeing  are 
looked  after  by  specialists,  and,  to  get  the  best  results,  specialists  are 
absolutely  necessary. 

The  great  commission  dye-houses  will  have  particularly  trained 
men  in  charge  of  their  various  departments, — stripping,  tin-weighting, 
coloring,  black  dyeing,  etc.,  and  so  can  rely  always  on  high-class  work. 
What  private  dye-house  could  afford  to  employ  such  a  staff? 

In  skein  dyeing,  a  number  of  manufacturing  firms  who  have  ven- 
tured into  that  field,  have,  after  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  concluded  that 
profits  did  not  lie  that  way,  and  have  given  it  up. 

As  to  piece  dyeing,  the  experience  of  one  great  house  that  tried  it 
and  abandoned  it,  was  that  unless  they  were  prepared  to  run  their 
mills  for  ttfe  benefit  of  the  dye-house,  it  was  a  losing  proposition. 

What  Experience  Teaches. 

Therefore,  unless  a  manufacturer's  business  is  very  large,  and  of 
a  fairly  constant  character,  he  had  better  leave  dyeing  alone;  and,  in 
fact,  unless  one  of  the  partners  or  head  men  has  been  trained  as  a 
dyer,  and  knows  the  trade  well  enough  to  manage  the  dye-house  him- 
self, it  had  better  be  left  alone  anyway.  "Let  the  cobbler  stick  to  his 
last"  has  always  been  good  advice,  and  a  good  manager  in  the  other 
departments  of  silk  manufacture  may  make  but  a  sorry  figure  when 
conducting  what  is  practically  a  chemical  works. 


Piece  Dyers'  Price  Lists. 

The  figures  presented  herewith  will  shew  what  some  of  the  large 
piece  dyers  are  charging  to-day  for  the  dyeing  of  certain  fabrics. 


SHOULD   A    MILL   DO    ITS   DYEING 


107 


PIECE   DYERS'    PRICE   LIST   FOR   DYEING    AND    WEIGHTING    CHIFFONS, 

VOILES,   AND  SIMILAR   FABRICS. 

1912-1913. 


bO  r-4 


O  <D 

»3      oS 


Chiffon  Finish    40-44  3  3%  3%  3% 

Chiffon  Finish  . .- 45-48  3*4  3%  3%  3% 

Elastic  Ordinary 40-44  3%  3%  3%  3% 

Elastic  Ordinary 45-48  3%  3%  3%  4 

Voile  Finish    40-44  3%  3%  3%  4 

Voile  Finish    45-48  3%  4  4  4% 

Dry    Goods    Finish 40-44  3%  4  4  4% 

Dry    Goods    Finish 45-48  4  4%  4%  4% 

Neck  Wear  Finish 40-44  4  4%  4%  4% 

Neck  Wear  Finish 45-48  4&  4%  4%  4% 

Weighting: 

10-15%  N 40-44  4  4%  4%  4% 

10-15%  N.    .... 45-48  4%  5  4%  5 

15-30%  A.    40-44  4%  5%  5  5% 

15-30%  A.    45-48  5%  5%  5%  6 

30-45%  T 40-44  5%  6  5%  6% 

30-45%  T 45-48  «  6%  6%  6% 

45-60%  S 40-44  5%  6%  6%  7 

45-60%  S 45-48  6%  7%  7  7% 

60-75%    1 40-44  7  7%  7%  7% 

60-7S%    1 45-48  7%  8  7%  8% 


IS 

3% 

4 

4 

4% 

4% 

4% 

4% 

4% 

4% 

5 


5 

5% 

6 

6% 

6% 

7% 

7% 

7% 

8 

8% 


10  O  O 

3% 

3% 

4 

4% 

4% 

4% 

4% 

4% 

4% 

4% 

5 

6% 

6% 

6% 

6% 

7% 

7% 

7% 

8 

8% 


1H.QX2       0,Q,Q 

133     ^33 


SPP 

3% 
4 

4% 
4% 
4% 
4% 
4% 
4% 
4% 
5 


4 

414 

4% 

4% 

4% 

5 

4% 

5 

5 


5% 

6 

6% 

7 

7% 

8% 

8% 

8%        9% 

9          10 

9%      10% 


6 

6% 
7% 
7% 
8% 
9% 
9% 


PIECE  DYE  PRICE  LIST. 
Dyed  and  Finished. 

24  inch  C.  B.  Satins.   Colors,  50.;  black,  4c. ;  bleaching,  extra. .     J^ 
36  inch  "  "       ;c.;     "      6c. 

For  goods  16  to  25  Ibs.  per  100  yds. ;  bleaching,  extra,   ic. 

For  goods  16  to  25  tbs.  per  100  yds.;  cross  dye,  extra,   ic. 

36  inch     C.  B.  Satin.     Tailoring  black   8c. 

36  inch  Imitation  yarn  dye  8c. 

36  inch  Peau  de  Cygne.    Light  quality 6c. 

36  inch  Satin  Liberty  "         "       6c. 

40  inch  "  "         "       8c. 

23  inch  Crepe  de  Chine 4C. 

36  inch  "  8c. 

40-44  inch  ioc. 

24  inch  Crepe  Meteor   70. 

40  inch       "  "          ioc. 

(OVER) 


io8  SHOULD   A    MILL   DO   ITS  DYEING 

(CONTINUED) 

24  inch  Cotton  and  Silk  Bengaline 6c. 

27  inch        "  "  7c. 

36  inch        "  "          "         loc. 

42  inch        "  "          "         I2c. 

48  inch  150. 

24  inch  Silk  and  Wool  Poplin 6c. 

27  inch     "  "  " 7c. 

36-40  in.   "  "  "       8c. 

43-45  in.  «  "       9c. 

46-48  in.  l  loc. 

36  inch  Crepe  Charmeuse  8c. 

40      "  loc. 

32  inch  Pongee,  silk  or  schappe  filled,  Dyed 4c. 

32  inch        "          "  "  "      Boiled  off 30. 

36  inch        "          "  "  "      Dyed 4^ 

36  inch        "          "  "  "      Boiled  off 


XI 

POWER  TRANSMISSION  IN  TEXTILE  MILLS. 


Many  articles  on  the  above  subject  have  been  appearing  in  the 
various  technical  publications,  particularly  with  reference  to  electrical 
transmission,  but,  of  those  that  the  writer  has  seen,  none  have  been 
written  by  textile  manufacturers,  and  it  seems  to  him  that,  in  conse- 
quence, too  great  stress  has  been  laid  upon  some  points  and  not  enough 
upon  others. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  a  textile  manufacturing  establishment,  hav- 
ing to  meet,  as  it  does,  the  keenest  and  fiercest  competition,  must  be  so 
organized  as  to  produce  the  greatest  number  of  properly  made  com- 
mercial units  at  the  minimum  cost  per  unit,  and  produce  them  on  time. 
Any  money,  in  reason,  spent  in  the  furtherance  of  this  end,  is  money 
well  spent,  but  any  other  expenditure,  whether  for  beauty,  convenience, 
novelty,  pride  or  what  not,  must  be  considered  with  care  and,  at  the 
best  sparingly  made,  as  active  capital  is  so  vital  to  a  business  that  every 
dollar  unnecessarily  locked  up  is  a  drawback. 

Electric  Transmission  Problem. 

The  introduction  of  electric  transmission  has  solved  many  prob- 
lems and  created  many  others.  Like  all  other  things,  it  has  both  ad- 
vantages and  drawbacks,  and,  as  every  mill  has  different  conditions  to 
be  met,  each  case  must  be  decided  on  its  merits,  and  the  writer  will  at- 
tempt to  point  out  some  of  the  features  to  be  considered. 

Methods  of  Generating  Power. 

Everyone  is  aware  that,  aside  from  water  powers,  the  power  trans- 
mitted electrically  has  first  to  be  created  by  combustion. 

The  power  may  be  generated  in  internal  combustion  engines,  using 
gas,  gasoline,  kerosene,  or  alcohol  as  fuel. 


no  POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS 

It  may  be  produced  by  steam  turbines,  condensing  or  non-condens- 
ing, using  high-pressure  steam,  superheated  or  otherwise. 

The  most  efficient  form  of  prime  mover  that  we  have  at  present, 
from  a  fuel-consumption  standpoint,  is  the  gas  engine,  using  producer- 
gas  as  a  fuel. 

A  gas-producer  outfit,  of  fair  size,  will  develop  a  horsepower  from 
less  than  I  Ib.  of  anthracite  pea  or  buckwheat  coal,  being  about  half 
the  amount  usually  required  for  a  high-class  steam  plant. 

If  electric  transmission  is  to  be  used,  the  high  speed  of  a  gas  engine 
lends  itself  well  to  the  purpose. 

The  prime  mover  in  most  general  use  in  textile  mills  is,  however, 
the  steam  engine,  driven  by  steam  from  horizontal  tubular  boilers,  us- 
ing coal  as  a  fuel,  and  it  is  with  power  outfits  of  this  kind  that  com- 
parisons are  here  intended. 

Crude  petroleum  has,  in  the  past,  been  largely  experimented  with, 
and  considerably  used  as  a  fuel  in  place  of  coal,  but  its  use  has  not 
proved  as  economical  as  was  once  hoped. 

Disadvantages  and  Advantages. 

To  transform  power  into  electrical  form  and  then  back  again  into- 
useful  work  is  attended  with  considerable  expense,  and  there  must, 
therefore,  be  equal  or  greater  savings  or  advantages  to  warrant  its 
employment. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  a  one-story  spinning  mill,  with  a  line-shaft, 
running  along  one  side,  carrying  pulleys  which  drive  the  spinning 
frames.  Now,  if  the  engine  house  extended  out  from  the  building 
about  midway  in  the  length  of  the  shaft,  and  if  an  engine  had  its  fly- 
wheel belted  directly  onto  a  pulley  on  the  shaft,  the  loss  in  transmis- 
sion would  be  very  slight. 

On  the  other  hand,  where  scattered  mill  buildings  have  to  be  sup- 
plied with  power  from  a  central  power-house,  and  it  has  to  be  con- 
veyed by  rope  or  belt  drives,  the  loss  of  power  so  entailed  may  be  ex- 
treme. 

In  such  cases  there  will  be  endless  heavy  shafts,  pulleys  and  belts, 
straight  or  crossed,  to  be  driven,  and  a  serious  amount  of  space  is 
taken  up  by  the  belt  ways. 

Sometimes,  in  high-class  mills,  belt-towers  have  been  built  out 
from  the  mill  buildings  proper,  and  separate  belts  have  been  run  from 
the  power  house  to  each  floor,  to  avoid  putting  objectionable  belt  holes 
through  the  floors  and  to  eliminate  the  belt  slippage  entailed  by  belting 
from  floor  to  floor. 

In  occasional  instances,  mill  buildings  have  been  grouped  round 
the  power  house  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel  round  the  hub,  and  power 
has  been  carried  to  each  by  rope-drives. 


POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS  in 

Rope  Driving. 

Relatively  few  people  in  this  country  are  familiar  with  the  use  and 
possibilities  of  rope-driving,  ano^  frequently,  where  such  installations 
have  been  made,  there  have  been  'complaints  regarding  them. 

This  is  often  because  those  to  whom  the  care  of  the  rope-drive  is 
committed  know  little  about  ropes,  though  thoroughly  familiar  with 
belt  transmission,  and  unintentional  neglect,  leading  to  trouble,  makes 
noticeable  the  fact  that  ropes  require  attention  just  as  -belts  do. 

By  means  of  ropes,  power  can  be  transmitted  and  subdivided  in  end- 
less ways,  and  at  all  angles,  and  with  excellent  efficiency. 

Comparison  of  Rope  and  Belt  Drives. 

Criticism  is  sometimes  heard  about  ropes  stretching  and  needing 
resplicing,  but  it  is  also  a  fact  that  the  ordinary  grades  of  belting 
stretch,  during  their  life,  almost  as  much  as  good  ropes,  and  need  re- 
splicing  quite  as  often,  while  failures  under  load  are  more  frequent  with 
belts  than  with  ropes. 

It  is  regarded  as  good  shop  practice  to  figure  that  a  first-class  belt 
will  stretch  6  per  cent,  during  its  life,  and  40  per  cent,  of  this  during 
the  first  three  months. 

The  expense  of  the  upkeep  for  transmission  appliances  is  greatly 
affected  by  the  duty  placed  upon  them.  It  is  shown  that  a  grade  of 
belting  that  will  wear  5  years  at  120  pounds  radial  load,  would  wear 
15  years  at  90  pounds,  or  30  years  at  70  pounds. 

It  has  also  been  stated  that,  comparing  an  ideal  belt-drive  from  the 
prime  mover  to  the  main  shaft  (with  a  distance  of  about  50  feet  be- 
tween centres),  with  an  ideal  rope-drive  for  the  same  purpose,  the  main- 
tenance of  the  belt-drive  will  cost  5  per  cent,  per  annum,  against  8  per 
cent,  for  the  rope-drive. 

This  would  be  when  run  under  fair  conditions,  and  when  installed 
with  low  cost  of  maintenance  as  a  special  end  in  view. 

Against  this  must  be  set  the  fact  that  the  first  cost  of  the  belt-drive, 
in  such  a  case,  will  be  about  50%  greater  than  the  cost  of  the  rope- 
drive. 

When  6%  interest  is  charged  on  this  difference  in  cost,  disregard- 
ing any  provision  for  depreciation,  it  will  be  found  that  the  charge  for 
interest  and  maintenance  on  the  belt-drive  will  be  about  17^2% 
more  than  on  the  rope-drive. 

Longer  distances  between  centres  would  give  figures  more  favora- 
ble to  ropes,  and  shorter  distances  would  favor  the  belts. 

Another  consideration  is,  that  the  scrap  value  of  the  worn-out  rope 
is  about  15%  of  the  new  cost,  and  of  belt  about  10%. 

Transmission  by  Gears. 

A  common  practice  in  English  mills  has  been  to  carry  the  power 
from  floor  to  floor  of  a  building  by  vertical  shafts,  with  bevel  gears 


ii2  POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS 

connecting  with  the  line  shafting  on  each  floor,  using,  in  any  event, 
much  power,  even  if  the  design,  cutting,  and  alignment  of  the  gears 
was  perfect,  and,  if  faulty  in  any  of  these  respects,  the  waste  of  power 
would  be  excessive. 

This  method  insures  regularity  of  speed  in  the  line  shafts  on  each 
floor,  so  long  as  the  speed  of  the  prime  mover  is  constant. 

In  all  cases  where,  owing  to  the  distance  or  the  direction  to  which 
the  power  has  to  be  transmitted,  heavy  initial  expenditure  would  be  en- 
tailed for  the  necessary  appliances,  as  well  as  much  waste  of  power  in 
the  process,  the  substitution  of  electrical  transmission  will  be  of  the 
greatest  advantage. 

Cost  of  Power. 

The  cost  of  power  in  each  mill  will  vary,  depending  on  size,  char- 
acter, and  condition  of  plant,  cost  of  coal  and  water,  price  of  labor, 
etc.,  etc. 

As  a  fair  approximation,  it  may  be  stated  that,  in  silk- weaving  mills 
of  reasonable  size,  using  good  types  of  engines  and  boilers  and  run- 
ning non-condensing,  employing  good  engineers  and  firemen,  and  pay- 
ing for  anthracite  No.  I  pea  coal  about  $4  per  gross  ton  delivered,  the 
cost  per  brake  horse  power  per  annum  may  run  from  $45  to  $55. 

This  figure  will  include  coal,  water,  oils,  repairs  and  supplies,  en- 
gineer and  fireman,  together  with  6%  interest  on  the  total  power  plant 
investment,  10%  depreciation  on  the  boilers,  engines,  piping,  etc.,  and 
2^2%  depreciation  on  the  power  house  and  stack. 

It  does  not  include  anything  for  the  general  shafting,  or  steam  pip- 
ing, through  the  mill,  but  stops  at  the  main  jack  shaft. 

The  power  cost,  above  stated,  will  probably  be  found  to  represent 
from  three-quarters  to  one  and  one-quarter  per  cent,  of  the  total  net 
cost  of  the  product  of  the  mill,  though  in  small  plants,  or  in  those  not 
operated  with  proper  efficiency,  it  may  rise  to  2^2%. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  power  plants  of  larger  size,  and  thoroughly 
equipped,  the  cost  may  be  brought  down  to  $30,  $25,  or  even  lower, 
per  horse  power  per  annum  (approximately  3,000  H.  P.  hours)  ;  and 
for  large  plants  which  run  night  and  day,  such  as  throwing  mills 
working  on  organzine,  considerably  lower  figures  than  the  above  are 
attainable. 

Such  power  plants,  however,  are  exceptional  in  silk  mill  work, 
and  we  must  consider  the  average  plants,  and  as  they  actually  are. 

In  cotton  mills,  which  conduct  all  the  operations  themselves  from 
the  raw  cotton  to  the  finished  cloth,  the  cost  of  the  power  required 
is  customarily  assumed  to  be  6  per  cent,  of  the  total  cost  of  the  pro- 
duct, and,  of  this  amount,  60  per  cent,  is  consumed  in  the  spinning 
alone. 

Advantages  of  Forced  Draught. 

The  employment  of  forced  draught,  with  automatic  regulation,  may 
enable  important  fuel  economies  to  be  effected,  and  will  allow  of 


POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS  113 

proper  draught  being  obtained  when  the  size  of  the  stack  would 
otherwise  have  been  insufficient. 

By  the  use  of  such  a  system,  the  writer  was  enabled  to  switch  from 
No.  i  pea  coal  at  $4.00  per  gross- ton  delivered,  to  No.  3  buckwheat 
(fresh  mined  coal)  at  $2.40  per  gross  ton  delivered,  and  used  no 
greater  weight  of  the  latter  than  of  the  former. 

While  it  will  be  seen  from  the  following  record  of  tests  made  on 
these  fuels  that  the  No.  3  buckwheat  had  about  3%  less  calorific  value 
than  the  No.  I  pea,  yet  the  more  complete  combustion  of  the  fine  size 
under  the  forced  draught  fully  offset  this  difference. 

Tests  of  Samples  of  Coal. 

Sample  of  Pea  Coal  contained  12,724  B.  T.  U.  (British  thermal 
units)  per  pound  of  coal.  Ash,  12  per  cent. 

Sample  of  No.  3  Buckwheat  contained  12,332  B.  T.  U.  per  pound 
of  coal.  Ash,  15.3  per  cent. 

Another  sample  of  No.  3  Buckwheat  contained  12,383  B.  T.  U.  per 
pound  of  coal. 

Moisture  3.9  per  cent. 

Volatile  and  combustible  matter 6.1    "       " 

Fixed  carbon  75.5  "   " 

Ash 14.5    "       " 

Total 100.00 

Questions  Affecting  Electrical  Installations. 

Many  questions  arise  when  the  subject  of  electric  transmission  is 
considered. 

There  is  the  comparative  cost  of  installation,  or,  if  the  mill  be  an 
old  one,  the  cost  of  the  necessary  changes ;  the  question  as  to  whether 
there  will  be  a  saving  or  a  loss  in  power ;  the  liability  to  break-down, 
and  the  steadiness  of  the  power ;  the  attendant  expense  for  labor ;  the 
liability  for  personal  injury;  the  interchangeability  of  the  power  and 
the  advantage  of  being  able  to  run  any  part  of  the  mill  by  itself;  the 
questions  of  fire  hazard;  of  ability  to  place  machinery  wherever  con- 
venient; of  circulation  of  dust;  of  improvement  in  the  quality  of  the 
product;  of  increase  in  production;  and  many  other  considerations. 

When  an  old  mill  is  having  electrical  equipment  installed,  the 
subject  is  still  more  complicated,  and  in  many  cases  it  will  be  found 
advantageous  to  continue  to  drive,  as  usual,  those  parts  of  the  plant 
that  are  in  close  relation  to  the  prime  mover,  while,  to  the  more  re- 
mote parts,  the  power  will  be  delivered  electrically. 

If  a  power  plant  is  being  laid  out,  ab  initium,  and  electric  trans- 
mission is  being  arranged  for,  a  generator  capable  of  transforming  at 
best  efficiency  all  of  the  energy  that  the  engine  is  capable  of  exerting 
should  be  supplied.  The  current  may  be  direct  or  alternating;  the 


POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS 


speed  and  voltage  are  matters  for  consideration  ;  in  an  induction  motor, 
different  cycles  or  phases  may  be  preferred;  and  the  generator  may 
be  direct-connected  or  belted. 

Each  mill  building  may  have  but  one  motor  in  it,  the  power  being 
conveyed  to  other  floors  by  belts;  or  there  may  be  a  motor  on  each 
floor;  or  a  motor  may  be  mounted  on  the  end  of  each  line  shaft;  or 
there  may  be  a  motor  for  each  individual  machine,  or  for  groups  of 
machines. 

Alternating  or  Direct  Currents. 

The  first  question  that  arises  is  as  to  the  character  of  the  cur- 
rent. Alternating  (or  induction)  current  motors  maintain  a  constant 
speed,  corresponding  with  the  engine  and  generator  speeds.  Direct- 
current  motors  are  subject  to  some  variation  in  speed  due  to  the 
amount  and  shifting  character  of  the  loads,  the  degree  to  which  the 
motor  has  been  heated,  etc. 

As  constancy  of  speed  in  textile  mills  is  very  important,  the  alter- 
nating-current motor  lends  itself  best  to  this  work,  while  the  fact  that 
it  has  neither  commutator  nor  brushes  greatly  simplifies  its  use.  For 
use  on  individual  looms,  the  alternating-current  motor  is  the  only  one 
to  be  considered. 

Textile  Printing  Requirements. 

In  the  case  of  machines  for  textile  printing,  the  direct-current  motor 
has  advantages. 

In  this  work,  the  operator  must  be  able  to  vary  the  speed  at  will, 
and  double-angle  steam  engines  are  largely  used  for  the  driving,  the 
speed  being  controlled  by  the  throttle. 

Direct-current  motors  can  thus  be  used  with  special  advantage  for 
this  purpose,  and  the  methods  provided  for  speed  control  are  won- 
derfully sensitive  and  efficient. 

Questions  Concerning  Kinds  of  Currents. 

Where  a  different  kind  of  current  from  that  supplied  by  the  main 
generator  is  required,  as  for  certain  kinds  of  lighting,  special  gen- 
erators may  be  driven  by  motors. 

If  direct-current  motors  are  used,  the  change  in  their  speed,  due  to 
heating  up,  is  a  matter  to  be  reckoned  with. 

In  from  two  to  four  hours  after  starting,  the  speed  may  have  grad- 
ually increased  by  5  to  10  %  as  the  motor  has  heated  up,  which  would 
cause  the  machinery  that  was  being  driven  to  go  too  fast,  or  else  it 
would  have  to  be  started  too  slow,  so  as  to  allow  for  the  subsequent 
speeding-up. 

To  correct  this  tendency,  there  has  to  be  introduced  into  the  field 
circuit  a  resistance  Box,  or  rheostat,  which  has  to  be  frequently  regu- 
lated to  correct  the  increase  in  speed. 

The  speed  will  also  change  with  changes  in  voltage,  and  heavy  loads 


POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN    MILLS  115 

being  thrown  on  or  off  the  generator,  as  the  work  in  the  mill  varies, 
will  affect  the  speed  of  the  motors. 

The  commutators  and  brushes  of  direct-current  generators  and  mo- 
tors also  require  attention,  while  alternating-current  machines,  which 
have  no  commutators,  are  free  from  this  trouble.  Brushes  must  be  ad- 
justed to  prevent  sparking,  and  must  be  renewed  from  time  to  time, 
and  commutators  must  be  trued  up  on  the  lathe,  at  intervals. 

Voltage  for  Lighting. 

The  voltage  to  be  selected  is  a  matter  for  careful  consideration,  and 
it  should  be  such  as  to  lend  itself  readily  to  whatever  lighting  system 
is  to  be  adopted. 

Alternating  currents  can  be  transformed  into  any  needed  voltage. 

Direct  current  cannot,  and  so  a  voltage  suitable  for  the  lighting  in- 
tended must  be  selected.  Incandescent  lamps  are  not  usually  made 
for  voltages  over  220,  and  are  more  generally  used  at  no  volts.  Direct- 
current  electricity  may,  therefore,  be  usefully  employed  with  voltages 
of  1 10,  220,  or  500.  The  latter  is  very  satisfactory  for  power  transmis- 
sion, on  account  of  the  much  smaller  sizes  (and  consequent  lower  cost) 
of  the  wiring  required,  and  a  rather  better  efficiency  can  be  looked  for 
from  the  apparatus  than  from  the  lower  voltages.  While  arc  lights 
can  use  500  volt  current,  yet,  in  taking  off  incandescent  lights,  it  is 
necessary  to  wire  in  series  two  220  volt  lamps,  or  four  no  volt  lamps, 
a  style  of  wiring  sometimes  objected  to  by  Boards  of  Fire  Underwriters, 
though  for  very  flimsy  reasons  if  the  installation  has  been  properly  made. 
Still,  if  an  inspection  certificate  is  necessary  to  obtain  insurance,  this 
point  must  not  be  overlooked. 

Danger  from  Electrical  Shock. 

It  should  also  be  remembered  that  the  danger  to  life  from  a  heavy 
electrical  shock  is  greater  in  the  case  of  alternating  current  than  in  the 
case  of  direct  current. 

The  effect  of  electrical  shock  will  vary  with  the  individual,  the 
surface  of  contact,  the  amount  and  voltage  of  the  current,  and  whether 
the  current  can  pass  freely  through  the  person  or  not. 

There  are  therefore  no  exact  rules  that  can  be  laid  down,  but  it  has 
been  stated  that  alternating  electric  currents  are  dangerous  above  500 
volts  and  direct  currents  above  800  volts. 

Speeds  of  Generators  and  Motors. 

When  the  speeds  at  which  generator  and  motors  are  to  run  is  con- 
sidered, it  is  to  be  observed  that,  as  the  speed  becomes  slower,  so  does 
the  size,  and  the  consequent  cost,  increase. 

Thus,  taking  motors  of  fair  size,  say  from  50  to  150  H.  P., 
we  would  probably  find  them  made  for  speeds  of  200  to  300  R.  P.  M., 
550  to  650  R.  P.  M.,  and  850  to  950  R.  P.  M.  There  is  a  considerable 
difference  in  size,  and  a  distinct  difference  in  cost,  between  each  speed, 


ii6  POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS 

the  slowest  ones  being  the  biggest  and  dearest,  and  the  fastest  ones 
being  the  smallest  and  cheapest.  Be  it  remarked,  also,  that  the  efficiency 
of  the  faster  ones  is  somewhat  the  greater. 

In  small  motors,  say  from  5  H.  P.  down  to  %  H.  P.,  speeds  ranging 
from  1,200  R.  P.  M.,  to  1,700  R.  P.  M.,  may  be  looked  for,  but,  in  these, 
alternatives  in  speeds  are  rarely  offered. 

Direct-Connected  or  Belted  Types. 

This  brings  us  to  the  question  as  to  whether  the  generator  should 
be  direct-connected  or  belted.  If  the  former,  its  speed  would,  of  course, 
be  the  same  as  that  of  the  engine,  which,  even  with  a  high-speed  engine, 
could  hardly  be  over  300  R.  P.  M.,  and  engines  built  for  connecting 
with  generators  cost  more  than  belted  types. 

Should  there  be  space  available,  a  belted  generator  may  be  found 
more  desirable,  as  an  engine  running  at  300  R.  P.  M.,  may  be  belted 
onto  a  dynamo  speeded  at  900  R.  P.  M.,  and  a  considerable  saving  in 
the  cost  of  the  generator  be  thus  effected,  though  the  cost  of  the  belt 
and  its  upkeep  must  also  be  taken  into  consideration. 

Another  consideration  that  tells  somewhat  in  favor  of  the  belted 
type  is,  that,  should  anything  go  wrong  with  a  direct-connected  gen- 
erator, it  puts  the  engine  out  of  business  for  several  days  or  more,  while 
repairs  are  being  made,  but,  if  the  trouble  occurs  with  a  belted  gen- 
erator, another  one  of  similar  character,  whether  new  or  second-hand, 
can  nearly  always  be  located  in  the  market  by  the  active  use  of  the 
telephone,  and  it  may  be  got  promptly  on  the  ground  and  into  action 
while  the  damaged  one  is  undergoing  repairs,  and  an  expensive  shut 
down  of  the  plant  may  thus  be  avoided. 

The  chances  of  a  breakdown,  however,  in  a  well  designed  and 
properly  maintained  power  plant,  whether  electric  or  other  transmission 
IDC  used,  are  somewhat  remote. 

Speeds  of  Prime  Movers. 

The  question  of  the  speed  of  the  generators  is  closely  interlocked 
with  the  speed  of  the  prime  movers. 

Owing  to  its  great  speed,  a  steam  turbine  lends  itself  well  to  electric 
transmission.  On  the  other  hand,  a  turbine  is  not  economical  unless  it 
runs  condensing,  and,  if  it  does,  there  is  no  exhaust  steam  available 
for  the  heating. 

For  turbine  work,  it  is  most  important  that  the  highest  possible 
vacuum  for  the  condensers  be  maintained,  and  28  inches,  or  over, 
should  be  aimed  at,  as  the  efficiency  will  then  be  much  greater. 

Turbo-generators  are  coming  more  and  more  into  vogue,  and,  when 
better  understood,  are  certain  to  be  very  widely  used. 

High  speed  engines  are  specially  useful  for  electrical  transmission 
and,  on  account  of  their  speed,  much  smaller  and  less  costly  generators 
can  be  used  than  would  be  the  case  with  the  slower  speed  engines,  such 
as  those  of  the  Corliss  type. 


POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS  117 

The  latter  are  generally  considered  to  be  more  economical,  but  the 
writer  has  no  fault  to  find  with  high-speed  types,  having  used  engines 
of  this  character  for  many  years,  and  he  has  found  them  very  satisfac- 
tory from  every  standpoint,  and  extremely  economical  in  the  matter 
of  upkeep. 

Incompetent,  lazy,  or  careless  engineers,  are  generally  responsible 
for  such  complaints  as  may  be  made  about  high-speed  engines,  if  built 
by  first-class  concerns. 

Boiler  Pressures. 

A  great  many  boilers  are  in  service  carrying  but  80  or  90  Ibs.  of 
steam,  such  as  was  formerly  customary,  but  practically  all  modern 
fire-tube  boilers  will  carry  at  least  125  to  150  Ibs.,  with  higher  pressures 
for  water-tube  boilers. 

Engine  efficiency,  also,  is  being  much  increased  by  the  use  of  super- 
heated steam. 

Subdivision  of  Power. 

We  now  come  to  the  question  of  the  subdivision  of  the  power. 

Take  a  three-story  mill,  for  instance,  requiring  30  H.  P.  to  drive 
it.  A  30  H.  P.  motor  on  the  middle  floor,  belting  up  and  down  to  the 
two  other  floors,  would  have  a  greater  efficiency,  and  therefore  con- 
sume less  current,  than  would  be  the  case  if  there  were  a  10  H  P.  motor 
on  each  floor,  and  the  combined  cost  of  the  three  10  H.  P.  units  would  be 
much  greater  than  the  cost  of  the  30  H.  P.  one.  Nevertheless,  there  are 
many  reasons  in  favor  of  the  separate  motor  for  each  floor. 

When  a  separate  motor  is  provided  for  each  line  of  shafting  on  a 
floor,  it  can  be  either  belted  on,  or  mounted  on  the  end  of  the  shaft.  In 
the  latter  case,  as  the  motor  will  generally  have  a  much  greater  speed 
than  is  required  for  the  shaft,  it  has  to  be  geared  down  to  the  proper 
speed,  and  it  is  well  to  have  the  gears  run  in  oil  to  reduce  noise  and 
friction. 

Again,  motors  may  be  directly  applied  to  individual  machines,  and 
these  machines  may  be  ones  that  are  intermittently  running  and 
stopping,  as  in  the  case  of  looms  or  finishing  machinery,  or  those  of  a 
kind  that  run  continuously  and  with  little  or  no  change  of  load,  such  as 
spinning  frames. 

Machines  may  also  be  driven  in  groups,  sufficiently  small  that,  if 
there  is  a  motor  failure,  there  will  not  be  many  units  put  out  of  action. 

Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of  Different  Drives. 

We  will  now  consider  some  of  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  to 
be  reckoned  with  in  these  differing  installations. 

Statements  have  been  made  in  print  that,  with  the  individual  motor 
system,  buildings  could  be  made  of  lighter  construction,  as  the  weight 
of  the  shafting,  etc.,  and  the  drag  of  the  belts,  would  be  eliminated. 
The  writer  believes,  though,  that  no  prudent  owner,  or  builder,  would 
desire  to  weaken  his  structure  for  anv  such  reason,  nor  would  the 


ii8  POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS 

underwriters  favor  such  a  plan.  In  those  mills,  however,  where  an 
outside  belt  tower  conveys  the  power  from  the  engine  to  the  shafting 
on  the  different  floors,  thus  eliminating  any  belt  holes  in  the  floors,  the 
cost  of  such  a  structure  could  have  been  avoided. 

Losses  from  dripping  oil,  falling  on  raw  material  or  finished  prod- 
uct, have  been  spoken  of  as  incidental  to  belt  driving,  though  none  but 
the  most  slovenly  management  would  permit  such  a  thing.  Every  bear- 
ing should  be  provided  with  a  proper  cup  or  can  for  catching  the  drip, 
if  there  be  any. 

In  the  chances  of  injury  to  workpeople  the  argument  is  in  favor 
of  the  motors,  as  people  occasionally  are  killed  or  injured  by  being 
caught  in  the  shafting  or  belting,  while  it  is  very  rare  to  hear  of  a 
death  in  a  mill  from  electric  shock. 

The  labor  cost  of  inspection  and  upkeep  will  probably  average  about 
the  same,  for  while,  on  the  one  hand,  shafting  and  gearing  must  be 
oiled  and  kept  clean,  and  belts  dressed  and  taken  up,  yet,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  motors  and  their  wiring  will  also  need  proper  and  constant 
surveillance  if  trouble  is  to  be  avoided. 

The  heat  developed  and  radiated  off,  due  to  frictional  losses,  will  be 
much  more  noticeable  in  the  case  of  the  motors  than  in  the  case  of 
belting,  even  if  the  waste  of  power  was  equal  in  both  cases.  A  large 
portion  of  the  heat  due  to  frictional  losses  in  a  belted  outfit  is  devel- 
oped in  belt  ways  and  other  spaces  apart  from  the  work  rooms,  while 
the  heat  lost  in  the  shafting  overhead  rises  to  the  ceiling  and  is  not 
felt  by  the  workers  on  the  floor.  Motors,  however,  are  usually  on  the 
floor,  and  the  heat  given  off  by  them  is  very  sensible  to  those  who  are 
about. 

By  using  individual  motors,  some  space  required  for  the  storage  of 
change  pulleys  and  spare  shafting  and  hangers,  will  be  saved,  as  well 
as  the  space  required  for  jack  shafts,  belt  ways,  etc.,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  some  room  will  be  needed  for  storing  extra  gears  for  changing 
speeds,  as  well  as  spare  armatures  and  motors. 

The  belting  employed  to  drive  machinery  circulates  dust,  interferes 
with  light,  obstructs  movement,  and  necessitates  fairly  high  ceilings. 
The  individual  motor  drive  eliminates  these  objections. 

Motor  driven  machines  may  be  placed  in  any  part  of  any  building, 
and  arranged  in  any  angle  or  in  any  position, — an  immense  advantage 
compared  with  the  rigidity  of  the  conditions  under  which  shaft-driven 
machinery  must  be  operated. 

Value  of  Electric  Records. 

Another  good  feature  about  motor  driving  is  that,  by  making  tests 
with  a  recording  watt  meter,  the  exact  amount  of  power  being  con- 
sumed by  each  machine  is  ascertained.  By  this  means,  when  certain 
machines  are  using  too  great  an  amount  of  power,  as  compared  with 


POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS  119 

others  of  the  same  kind,  due  to  internal  friction  losses  or  other  causes, 
the  trouble  is  brought  to  light  and  steps  can  be  taken  for  its  correc- 
tion. 

The  electrical  records  that  can  be  taken  of  each  individual  machine 
will  also  shew  the  exact  number  of  minutes  per  day  that  it  has  actually 
run,  and  just  when,  and  for  how  long,  the  different  stoppages  have 
occurred.  A  careful  study  of  these  records  is  of  extreme  help  to  the 
management  in  locating  the  causes  of  diminished  production.  Such 
records  act  as  an  ever-present  reporter  of  the  movements  of  the  work 
people. 

The  power  taken  by  each  department  can  also  be  definitely  known, 
and  each  can  be  charged  with  its  exact  share  when  the  overhead  charges 
are  being  apportioned. 

Electrical  Units. 

It  may  be  explained  here  that  the  watt  is  the  unit  of  electrical  out- 
put, 1000  watts  being  expressed  as  I  kilowatt.  The  volt  is  the  unit  of 
electro-motive  force,  the  ampere  is  the  unit  of  electric  current  strength, 
and  the  ohm  is  the  unit  of  resistance.  In  direct-current  motor  work,  the 
amperage  multiplied  by  the  voltage  gives  the  output  in  watts,  746  watts 
being  the  equivalent  of  one  mechanical  horse  power. 

Flexibility  of  Electric  Power. 

A  great  advantage  given  by  electric  transmission  is  that  each  floor 
can  be  operated  separately,  or  independently  from  the  rest  of  the  plant, 
and  they  can  be  run  overtime,  or  at  nights,  or  on  holidays,  without  hav- 
ing any  other  machinery  turning  in  the  mill.  Should  an  accident  occur, 
or  should  it  be  desired  to  stop  the  machinery  on  a  floor  for  any  other 
reason,  it  can  be  promptly  done  by  simply  throwing  the  switch. 

Again,  should  any  one  be  furnishing  power  to  a  tenant,  or  buying 
power  from  a  landlord,  the  exact  amount  to  be  paid  for  will  be  shown 
by  the  meter,  and  all  controversies  on  the  subject  will  be  avoided. 

Outside  Current  and  Its  Cost. 

Furthermore,  should  the  engine  not  be  running,  and  should  it  be 
desirable  or  necessary  to  run  one  machine,  one  floor,  or  the  whole  mill, 
from  the  outside  or  town  current,  it  can  be  so  arranged. 

Whether  it  pays  to  make  large  use  of  the  outside  current  or  not  will 
depend  on  its  price. 

Many  power  companies  pursue  the  shortsighted  policy  of  charging 
rates  for  current  that  make  it  cheaper  for  the  manufacturer  to  produce 
his  own  power.  Such  charges,  even  with  the  maximum  discount  for 
quantity  used,  will,  in  a  number  of  instances  known  to  the  writer, 
amount  to  a  rate  equivalent  to  $90  per  H.  P.  per  annum. 

In  other  cases,  a  different  policy  is  pursued  and  very  attractive  rates 
—perhaps  as  low  as  $25  per  H.  P.  per  annum,  are  made — prices  much 
lower  than  the  individual  could  produce  it  for  himself. 


120  POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS 

Here,  great  advantages  present  themselves,  as  not  only  is  the  power 
very  cheap,  but  the  capital  that  would  otherwise  be  sunk  in  the  power 
plant  can  be  used  as  working  capital  or  put  into  productive  machinery. 

Points  of  Vital  -Moment. 

We  now  reach  the  consideration  of  those  more  vital  matters  which 
will  control  the  decision  of  the  manufacturer,  such  as  cost  of  installa- 
tion and  upkeep,  consumption  of  power,  and  improvement  in  the  quality 
and  quantity  of  the  work  done,  and  which  the  writer  believes  will,  in 
the  last  analysis,  tell  strongly  in  favor  of  the  individual  motor  to  drive 
the  individual  machine. 

Where  the  question  is  one  of  belting  a  generator  onto  the  engine 
or  the  main  jack  shaft,  and  installing  a  motor  in  each  building  to  drive 
it,  in  place  of  erecting  lines  of  heavy  shafting,  carrying  great  pulleys 
and  huge  belts,  for  transmitting  the  power  from  the  engine  to  the  dif- 
ferent buildings,  it  may  well  be  that  the  electrical  outfit  may  cost  no 
more,  or  perhaps  may  cost  less,  than  the  mechanical  equipment,  besides 
possessing  the  other  advantages  previously  alluded  to. 

In  the  further  subdivision  of  the  power  in  each  building,  or  on  each 
floor,  by  using  individual  motors,  the  case  is  different,  as  the  cost  of 
such  motors,  with  their  wiring,  switchboards,  etc.,  will  probably  be 
much  in  excess  of  the  cost  of  the  line  shafts,  pulleys,  hangers,  and  belts. 
As  there  is  great  variation  in  the  size,  character  and  price  of  such 
motors,  as  well  as  great  differences  in  shafting  layouts,  it  is  impossible 
here  to  give  proper  comparisons  of  cost,  but  it  is  safe  to  state  that,  for 
the  minor  transmission,  the  motor  installation  cost  will  be  substantially 
in  excess  of  the  cost  of  shafting  and  belting. 

This  is  not  to  assume  that  the  cost  is  in  any  sense  prohibitive,  but  to 
emphasize  the  fact  that,  on  the  difference  in  cost,  an  annual  allowance 
of  6%  interest  and,  say,  7l/2%  for  depreciation,  must  be  figured  on,  as 
well  as  to  make  clear  that  some  extra  capital  must  be  sunk  for  the  sake 
Of  securing  substantial  advantages  in  operating. 

Where  electrical  distribution  of  power  is  planned  in  an  old  mill,  and 
where  heavy  and  costly  transmission  apparatus  has  to  be  abandoned  in 
favor  of  generators  and  motors,  the  relative  cost  will  seem  higher  than 
in  the  case  of  a  new  installation. 

Power  Lost  in  Transmission. 

Great  claims  of  saving  in  power  are  made  by  over-enthusiastic 
writers  on  this  subject,  and  comparisons  are  usually  made  with  anti- 
quated plants.  It  is  well  known  that  a  very  large  amount  of  power  is 
required  to  run  the  transmission  machinery  of  any  mill,  with  none  of 
the  machines  in  operation.  According  to  the  arrangement  of  the 
buildings,  the  character  of  the  equipment,  the  good  or  ill  alignment  of 
the  shafting,  and  the  tightness  of  the  belts,  this  load  will  generally  vary 
from  30%  to  40%  of  the  total  power  used  when  all  the  machinery  is 
running. 


POWER   TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS  121 

We  will  assume  that  this  averages  35%  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  this 
is  just  about  what  may  be  normally  looked  for. 

Now,  how  does  the  individual  motor  drive  compare  with  this  ?  The 
generator,  whether  direct-connected  .or  belted,  will  not  have  a  greater 
efficiency  than  92%,  so  here  we  have  a  loss  of  8%.  The  small  motors, 
J4,  1/3  or  T/2  H.P.  will  probably  not  average  over  70%  efficiency,  and 
may  be  very  much  less.  Then  there  is  the  drop  in  the  line,  or  loss  of 
power  during  its  transmission  through  the  network  of  wires,  which  in 
such  work  may  amount  to,  say,  4%.  The  total  of  these  losses  compute 
to  38%,  as  against,  say,  35%  loss  in  shafting  and  belts. 

It  must  be  observed  that  the  indicator  cards  taken  of  the  transmis- 
sion apparatus  at  "no  load"  may  be  misleading  as  to  the  power  con- 
sumed that  is  not  actually  applied  to  work,  as  frictional  losses  in  the 
shafting,  etc.,  increase  with  the  load. 

In  a  belt-driven  plant  the  looms  will  not  be  in  operation,  in  most 
cases,  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  time.  That  is,  one-third  of  them  will 
be  always  standing  from  one  cause  or  another.  The  shafting  losses  for 
all  of  them  go  on  just  the  same. 

With  the  individual  motor  equipment,  when  the  looms  stand,  the 
frictional  losses  of  their  motors,  etc.,  stop  also,  so  here  we  have  a  sub- 
stantial advantage  for  the  motors. 

Requirements  for  Loom  Motors. 

Again,  when  a  motor  is  provided  for  a  loom,  that  motor  must  be 
able  to  take  care  of  the  heaviest  work  that  that  loom  is  likely  to  be 
called  on  to  do,  and  therefore  the  average  size  of  the  motors  provided 
must  be  greater  than  the  average  loads  put  upon  the  looms,  so  that,  as 
regards  the  work  of  revolving  the  armatures,  the  electrically  driven 
looms  consume  more  power  than  they  otherwise  would. 

All  this  shows  that  no  saving  in  power  cost,  or  power  consumed, 
is  to  be  expected  when  an  electric  installation  is  projected,  the  power 
taken  being  much  the  same  in  both  cases. 

For  an  electrically  driven  silk  weaving  plant,  there  should  be  motors 
totalling  40  to  50  H.  P.  for  each  75  to  100  broad  looms. 

The  most  important  question,  and  the  dominating  one,  is  how  the 
production  is  affected. 

Improvements  in  Motors. 

The  use  of  induction  motors,  and  improved  contrivances  in  con- 
nection with  them,  has  eliminated  many  difficulties  that  formerly  pre- 
sented themselves  in  the  direct  driving  of  looms  by  motors.  The  loom 
can  be  started  at  speed,  so  that  the  shuttle  is  driven  properly  home  into 
its  box  and  the  danger  of  a  "smash"  is  obviated;  devices  have  been 
introduced  to  take  the  shock  off  the  loom  or  the  motor  when  the  loom 
"knocks  off" ;  the  loom  builders  furnish  looms  arranged  for  motors  to 
be  attached  to  them,  and  the  motors  are  so  attached  to  the  looms  that 
they  can  be  adjusted  up  or  down,  in  a  vertical  direction,  so  as  to  al- 


122  POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS 


low  the  introduction  of  a  larger  or  smaller  intermediate  gear  with  a 
consequent  alteration  in  the  speed.  These  gears  may  be  enclosed  in  a 
locked  metal  boxing,  and  the  changing  of  the  gears  and  the  consequent 
speed  of  the  loom  may  be  a  matter  of  only  two  or  three  minutes. 

Such  change  pinions  as  are  now  usually  provided  will  alter  the 
speed  of  the  loom  7  picks  per  minute  for  each  tooth.  If  a  regulation 
as  low  as  4  picks  could  be  got,  it  would  be  more  desirable. 

Irregularities  of  Speed. 

As  the  engine  and  generator  speeds  will  be  constant,  so  will  be  the 
speeds  of  the  induction  motors,  and  variations  in  speed  will  not  be  so 
liable  to  occur  when  each  unit  has  its  own  motor,  as  would  be  the  case 
with  belt  transmission,  where  considerable  loads  thrown  on  or  off  some 
part  of  the  system  may  affect  the  speed  of  the  whole.  In  well  designed 
mills,  when  the  engine  is  not  overloaded,  this  will  not  be  a  wide  varia- 
tion, but  still  it  does  make  a  difference,  and  its  elimination  will  help  the 
production  not  a  little ;  and  where  the  cost  of  labor  per  yard  is  so  great, 
a  small  percentage  of  increased  product  means  a  large  annual  saving. 

Recent  tests,  made  in  some  up-to-date  English  plants,  have  shown 
that,  with  engines  running  at  full  load,  there  might  only  be  a  variation  of 
engine  speed,  due  to  the  shifting  loads,  of  3%,  while  at  the  loom  counter- 
shafts it  would  rise  to  as  much  as  20%. 

By  attaining  a  constant  speed,  the  breakages  of  loom  parts,  and  the 
consequent  loom  stoppage,  would  be  minimized,  and,  with  the  more 
regular  strain  upon  the  warp  threads,  broken  ends  would  be  much  less 
frequent. 

An  irregular,  jerky  pull  on  the  warp  threads  is  a  potent  cause  of 
breakage. 

By  the  correction  of  the  above  difficulties,  actual  increases  in  pro- 
duction of  5%  have  been  demonstrated. 

In  belted  plants,  there  is  always  a  loss  of  speed,  of  a  widely  varying 
amount  and  generally  quite  unrecognized  by  the  management,  due  to 
the  varying  tightness  or  slackness  of  the  machine  belts,  and  other  belt- 
ing through  the  mill.  This  belt  slippage  is  estimated  to  average  from 
3%  to  6%  over  the  whole  range  of  machinery  of  ordinary  plants.  The 
tightness  of  belts  is,  furthermore,  greatly  affected  by  the  weather. 

Regulation  of  Speed. 

The  ability  to  regulate  the  speed  of  a  loom  by  a  simple  and  easy 
change  of  pinions  is  the  great  thing.  When  a  loom  might  do  better  if 
running  a  bit  slower,  or  if  it  might  be  speeded  up  a  little  to  advantage, 
it  will  probably,  under  belted  conditions,  be  left  to  run  as  it  is  (unless 
the  change  may  be  likely  to  be  permanent),  as  to  alter  it  would  necessi- 
tate a  troublesome  change  of  pulleys  and  a  mutilation  of  belts.  The 
motor  drive  alters  all  this. 

There  are  many  phases  of  tkis  question  of  the  change  of  speed  of 


POWER    TRANSMISSION   IN   MILLS  123 

individual  looms.  If  a  weaver  knows  that  his  loom  is  to  be  run  faster 
he  may  be  afraid  that  it  will  be  too  fast,  and  his  mental  attitude  will 
make  the  extra  speed  unprofitable.  If,  however,  it  could  be  raised,  say, 
four  picks  each  week,  thus  working  him  up  to  it,  till  the  desired  speed 
was  reached,  much  good  might  be  done. 

A  new  fabric  might  be  put  in  work  and  a  variety  of  speeds  tried,  till 
the  most  advantageous  one  was  hit  upon. 

When  warps  of  extra  good  quality  came  in  the  looms,  speeds  would 
be  raised  accordingly,  while,  when  a  poor  lot  was  causing  trouble  with 
ends  breaking  down,  the  speed  would  be  reduced  to  the  point  where  the 
best  production  was  got. 

Each  make  or  width  of  loom,  each  pattern  or  weave,  each  lot  of  ma- 
terial, each  warp,  and  each  weaver,  has  its  or  his  own  individuality,  and 
the  ability  to  quickly,  easily,  and  accurately  adjust  the  speeds,  so  that 
the  maximum  product  may  always  be  maintained,  is  an  advantage  of  the 
first  importance. 

The  same  remarks  will  apply  to  other  machinery,  winders,  spinners, 
etc.,  but  in  the  weaving  lies  the  great  profit. 

Possible  Increase  in  Production. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  hope  that,  between  the  constancy  of  speed  that 
it  is  possible  to  maintain,  and  the  improved  results  from  the  individual 
adjustment  of  the  looms,  an  increase  of  product  of  at  least  10%  over 
and  above  the  ordinary  average,  may  be  obtainable. 

Even  if  only  a  5%  increase  were  achieved,  the  results  would  be  most" 
gratifying.  Thus,  if  a  mill  had  an  output  of  2,000,000  yards  a  year,  on 
which  was  a  net  profit  of  3  cents  a  yard,  and  on  which  a  figure  for  gen- 
eral expense  of  7  cents  a  yard  had  to  be  allowed,  equal  to  $140,000  a 
year,  this  increase  of  5%  would  reduce  the  proportion  of  general  ex- 
pense on  the  output  by  $7,000,  while  the  100,000  yards  increased  prod- 
uct at  3  cents  profit  per  yard,  would  make  $3,000  more,  or  $10,000  in  all, 
even  if  the  wages  were  not  reduced  to  correspond  with  the  increased 
output.  Interest  and  depreciation  on  any  additional  installation  cost, 
must  properly  be  deducted  from  these  figures. 

Cleanliness  of  Mill  and  Fire  Hazard. 

Individual  motor  drives  will  give  a  somewhat  cleaner  mill,  and  this, 
combined  with  steadiness  of  speed,  and  lessened  warp  breakage,  should 
lead  to  a  greater  cleanliness  and  perfection  of  the  fabrics  made. 

This  greater  cleanliness  of  mill  tends  slightly  to  reduce  the  fire 
hazard,  but,  with  the  amount  of  wiring  entailed  by  the  numerous  mo- 
tors, the  fire  hazard  is  not  likely  to  be  less,  and  will  probably  be  greater, 
than  with  belt-driven  plants. 

The  whole  subject  of  electrical  transmission,  and  particularly  of  the 
individual  motor  drive,  merits  the  most  careful  consideration  of  all  pro- 
gressive manufacturers. 


124  POWER    TRANSMISSION  IN   MILLS 

Who  to  Deal  With. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  persons  contemplating  such  instal- 
lations should  deal  with  no  one  except  those  first-class  electrical  con- 
cerns which  have  made  a  specialty  of  such  work,  and  whose  experi- 
ence and  resources  enable  them  to  furnish  an  equipment  which  will  be 
right  and  suitable  in  every  particular. 

In  such  cases,  any  reasonable  difference  in  first  cost  is  of  very  little 
moment,  so  long  as  one  has  the  assurance  that  the  installation  will  be 
made  right  and  will  work  right ;  and  in  the  writer's  opinion,  a  properly 
laid  out  weaving  plant,  driven  by  individual  motors,  will  give  an  appre- 
ciably lower  manufacturing  cost  than  a  belt-driven  plant,  if  all  of  its 
possibilities  are  taken  full  advantage  of. 


XII 

HUMIDIFICATION  IN  TEXTILE  MILLS. 


In  the  successful  operating  of  a  mill,  one  of  the  most  important 
points  is  the  securing  of  a  full,  steady  and  well  made  product.  Any  de- 
ficiency in  this  respect  is  a  serious  matter,  and  every  intelligent  manu- 
facturer is  constantly  spending  much  time,  thought,  and  money  in  his 
efforts  to  increase  his  output. 

Percentage  of  Theoretical  Output  Obtainable. 

General  experience  has  shown,  in  a  rough  sort  of  way,  about  what 
percentage  of  the  theoretical  product  can  be  obtained  in  actual  practice 
for  different  classes  of  goods  and  for  mills  run  under  various  condi- 
tions, and  every  mill  should  be  able,  under  normal  circumstances,  to 
come  approximately  near  to  this  percentage. 

In  very  well  managed  mills,  and  under  favorable  conditions,  this 
production  can  be  largely  increased,  and  it  is  towards  this  goal  that  all 
mill  men  are  striving,  and  on  their  success  depends  largely  the  pros- 
perity of  the  concern. 

Among  the  many  causes  that  combine  to  keep  down  the  production 
below  what  might  be  expected,  one  of  the  most  important  is  unfavora- 
ble atmospheric  conditions. 

Hygroscopic  Character  of  Textile  Fibres. 

All  textile  fabrics  are  hygroscopic  in  character,  that  is,  they  have  the 
power  of  absorbing  moisture  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  and  no  fibre 
is  more  affected  by  moisture  than  is  silk. 

The  moisture  present  in  textile  fibres,  under  normal  conditions,  will 
vary  from  locality  to  locality,  from  season  to  season,  and  from  day 
to  day. 

As  these  variations  cause  changes  in  weight,  it  was  long  ago  seen 


126  HUMIDIFICATION   IN    TEXTILE   MILLS 

that  some  standard  basis  must  be  adopted  to  apply  to  commercial  trans- 
actions in  these  materials. 

A  series  of  standards  was,  in  time,  evolved,  which  are  supposed  to 
represent  the  average  normal  moisture  that  the  materials  should  con- 
tain, and  these  amounts  are  expressed  in  percentages  of  regain.  This 
means  that,  if  the  materials  are  reduced  to  a  condition  of  absolute  dry- 
ness,  and  the  allotted  percentage  for  the  moisture  is  then  added,  the  re- 
sults will  be  the  standard  normal  weight  of  the  material,  or  the  "Condi- 
tioned Weight,"  as  it  is  called. 

Standard  Percentages  of  Regain. 
The  principal  allowances  for  natural  moisture  are  as  follows : 

Carded  wool  and  wool  waste *8/4% 

Worsted  yarn i8>4% 

Wool  yarn , 17% 

Cotton,  raw  or  in  yarn 8^2  % 

Linen,  raw  or  in  yarn 12% 

Tow,  raw  or  in  yarn 12^  % 

Jute,  raw  or  in  yarn *324% 

Mixed  yarn  of  wool  and  cotton 10% 

Mixed  yarn  of  wool  and  silk 16% 

Spun  silk,  or  schappe,  and  carded  silk 1 1  % 

Raw-silk,  and  thrown  silk 1 1  % 

The  Bradford  Conditioning  House  allows  a  regain  for  worsted  tops, 
combed  in  oil,  of  19%,  while,  if  combed  without  oil,  they  allow  the 
standard  figure  of  i8j4%. 

The  explanation  is,  that  there  was  an  old  "Trade  Custom"  allowance 
of  19%  in  the  district,  which  was  continued  for  the  local  trade,  which 
customarily  uses  tops  combed  in  oil.  The  great  bulk  of  the  exported 
tops  are  combed  without  oil  and  the  allowance  on  these  is  18*4%. 

Tests  Made  at  the  Arlington  Mills. 

At  the  Arlington  Mills,  at  Lawrence,  Mass.,  some  most  interesting 
data  were  obtained  on  the  fluctuations  of  atmospheric  moisture. 

A  skein  of  worsted  yarn  was  left  exposed  for  a  full  year  in  an  open 
shed,  where  no  artificial  heat  ever  came,  and  from  which  wind,  sun, 
and  rain  were  excluded,  but  which  was  otherwise  exposed  to  the  out- 
side influence  of  the  atmosphere. 

From  May  ist,  1895,  to  May  ist,  1896,  accurate  weighings  were 
taken  ten  times  a  day,  at  approximately  the  same  hours,  for  every  day 
in  the  year  except  Sundays  and  holidays. 

The  great  variations  observed  in  the  weight  of  this  skein  of  yarn 
were  remarkable.  The  moisture  in  it  ranged  from  about  7%  to  as  high 
as  35%  of  its  total  weight,  often  with  a  variation  of  15  to  20%  in  24 
hours. 

The  greatest  absorption  was  in  the  early  morning  hours,  and  the 


HUMIDIFICATION   IN    TEXTILE   MILLS  127 

least  was  between  three  and  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  average 

difference  being  about  2%. 

The  following  monthly  averages,  of  the  moisture  recorded  are  of 

interest : 

Greatest  change 
in  24  hours. 

May,  1895 14.86%  8.2% 

June,  "   16.87%  10.0% 

July,  "   18.05%  9-i% 

August,  '   17.31%  8.7% 

September,        '   17.29%  12.1% 

October,  '  16.76%  11.3% 

November,         '   22.02%  19.1% 

December,        "   19.28%  16.1% 

January,        1896 17.40%  15-1% 

February,  '   17.21  %  i?-3% 

March,  '   17.21%  16.4% 

April,  "   14-15%  12-2% 


Average   for  year 17.45% 

Further  information  on  this  interesting  subject  can  be  found  in 
"Tops,"  published  by  the  Arlington  Mills,  1898. 

Elasticity  of  Yarns  Largely  Dependent  Upon  Moisture. 

When  yarns  are  reasonably  moist,  they  exhibit  a  proper  elasticity, 
and,  as  they  get  dryer,  they  lose  much  of  this  property,  very  dry  yarns 
being  extremely  deficient  in  this  respect  and  therefore  giving  very  un- 
satisfactory results  in  work. 

When  such  a  very  hygroscopic  material. as  silk  is  subject  to  such 
changes  in  atmospheric  moisture  as  are  detailed  above,  the  importance 
of  some  means  to  keep  it  always  in  a  properly  moist  condition  is  ap- 
parent. 

Advantage  of  Damp  Localities  for  Textile  Manufacturing. 

From  time  immemorial  textile  machinery  has  been  operated  in  damp 
places.  Mills  have  been  located  along  water  courses  not  only  on  ac- 
count of  the  uses  of  the  water  for  power  and  other  purposes,  but  be- 
cause such  locations  were  damp,  while  sites  on  dry,  wind  swept  uplands 
have  been  avoided.  Great  textile  centres  have  grown  up  in  favorably 
damp  localities,  such  as  Lancashire,  New  Bedford,  and  Bombay. 

In  many  cases,  mills  have  been  built  into  hillsides,  where  water 
trickling  down  the  walls  has  supplied  the  required  humidity,  and  hand 
looms  for  ages  have  been  operated  in  basements  and  cellars. 

All  this  goes  to  show  that  the  necessity  of  conducting  textile  opera- 
tions in  a  moist  atmosphere  has  always  been  recognized,  but  in  the  great 
growth  of  industry  in  modern  days,  locations  have  had  to  be  selected 


128  HUMIDIFICATION   IN    TEXTILE   MILLS 

from  other  considerations,  and  many  are  the  mills  that  are  built  in  dry, 
and  even  in  extremely  dry,  localities. 

Effect  of  Humidity  on  Mill  Operations. 

When  the  atmosphere,  and  consequently  the  textile  fibre,  is  properly 
moist,  every  department  of  the  mill,  be  it  carding,  spinning,  winding, 
warping,  or  weaving,  works  at  its  utmost  efficiency,  and  should  turn 
out  a  full  and  perfect  product. 

Observe  the  difference  when  cold,  dry,  brisk  days  come,  and  when 
the  moisture  in  the  air  is  at  a  minimum.  Then  we  find  threads  breaking 
and  snapping  in  all  directions,  machinery  stopping,  trouble  everywhere, 
and  bad  temper  prevalent. 

When  there  is  plenty  of  moisture  present,  the  rapidly  moving  silk  is 
also  not  so  susceptible  to  electrical  influences,  but,  when  dry,  it  is 
quickly  electrified,  and  loose  ends  are  flying  in  all  directions,  getting 
caught  together,  and  becoming  a  regular  nuisance. 

How  Production  and  Costs  Are  Affected. 

In  most  localities  where  there  are  textile  mills,  the  majority  of  the 
days  in  the  year  will  be  reasonably  moist,  some  will  be  too  much  so,  and 
a  considerable  number  will  be  too  dry,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  and 
these  dry  days  cut  down  the  production  seriously  and  are  consequently 
very  expensive  for  the  mill. 

Consider  what  this  means  in  money.  A  5oo-loom  mill  may  be  turn- 
ing off  7,000  yards  a  day,  on  which  is  an  earning  of  6  cents  a  yard  for 
expenses  and  4  cents  for  profit,  amounting  to  $700  in  all.  If,  now,  on 
an  extra-dry,  cold  day,  the  production  falls  off  20  per  cent.,  and  it  easily 
may,  it  means  a  loss  of  $140  to  the  mill,  which  could  be  entirely  saved 
if  the  air  could  be  kept  damp,  and  this  is  a  loss  that  may  occur  on  very 
many  days  in  the  year.  It  is  obvious  that  no  pains  or  money  should  be 
spared  to  diminish  such  an  evil  as  this. 

Not  all  the  rooms  in  a  mill  will  be  equally  dry,  and  the  conditions 
in  weave  sheds,  which  are  often  partly  sunk  in  the  ground,  are  generally 
more  satisfactory  than  in  the  higher  stories  of  a  mill.  Mr.  Edward  At- 
kinson, if  my  recollection  serves  me,  in  one  of  his  published  works, 
writes  of  a  cotton  mill  where,  for  the  same  goods,  and  under  exactly 
the  same  conditions,  the  production  for  a  period  of  ten  years  averaged 
15  per  cent,  more  in  the  weave  shed  than  in  floors  higher  up.  Part  of 
this,  no  doubt,  was  due  to  the  more  solid  and  level  foundations  for  the 
looms  in  the  shed,  but  the  greater  part  must  unquestionably  be  attrib- 
uted to  moisture. 

Difficulties  During  Damp  or  Dry  Hot  Weather 

Some  trouble  is  experienced  in  very  damp  days,  particularly  those 

days  in  summer  when  the  humidity  is  excessive,  warps  and  harnesses 

are  sticking,  and  everything  feels  damp.    Hot  and  all  as  it  is,  it  may  be 

necessary,  in  default  of  any  better  means,  to  close  the  windows  and  turn 


HUMIDIFICATION   IN    TEXTILE   MILLS  129 

on  the  steam  in  the  heating  coils  so  as  to  dry  things  out,  but  this  is  not 
so  severe  on  the  workers  as  it  would  seem,  for,  the  air  being  dryer, 
there  is  more  evaporation  from  the  surface  of  the  body,  and,  as  this  is 
a  cooling  process,  it  tends  to  equalize  matters. 

Many  hot  days  are  also  very  dry,  and  it  would  then  require  a  great 
deal  of  moisture  to  put  the  air  in  a  satisfactory  condition. 

If  means  for  cooling  the  air  were  provided,  it  could  be  much  more 
easily  got  into  a  properly  moist  state. 

The  greatest  trouble  is,  however,  occasioned  by  the  dry  days,  and  it 
is  for  the  purpose  of  obviating  this  trouble  that  humidifyers  have  been 
introduced. 

Humidifyers  and  Their  Attributes. 

A  humidifyer  is  an  apparatus  for  keeping  the  air  in  a  room  in  a 
properly  moist  condition,  and,  to  be  satisfactory,  should  fulfill  the  fol- 
lowing conditions : 

Rapid  and  perfect  distribution  of  moisture  in  the  form  of  the  finest 
vapor ;  a  minimum  amount  of  water  to  be  used  for  the  quantity  vapor- 
ized ;  the  power  required  for  operating  to  be  small ;  the  apparatus  to  be 
simple  and  not  liable  to  get  out  of  order,  and  to  be  easily  understood 
and  taken  care  of ;  adjustment  and  regulation  to  be  accurate  and  easy ; 
easy  to  open  up  and  keep  clean,  and  free  from  any  liability  to  clog  up ; 
a  minimum  of  space  to  be  occupied ;  low  cost  of  upkeep ;  the  smallest 
possible  amount  of  machinery;  and  a  reasonably  low  first  cost.  It 
should  also  be  possible  to  keep  the  system  in  proper  order  if  looked 
after  by  the  ordinary  mill  help,  and  it  should  be  so  simple  as  to  make  it 
unnecessary  ever  to  call  in  expert  advice  in  connection  with  it. 

There  are  a  number  of  meritorious  humidifying  systems  on  the  mar- 
ket, and  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  recommend  one  or 
other  of  their  methods. 

Apparatus  Required. 

The  apparatus  used,  according  to  the  system,  consists  generally  of 
such  features  as  pumps,  fans,  air-pressure  tanks,  hmmidifyer  heads, 
atomizer  nozzles,  revolving  discs,  strainers,  water  and  steam  piping, 
motors,  etc.,  etc.,  some  of  which  features  give  more  or  less  trouble  after 
having  been  run  for  a  while. 

It  is  a  considerable  advantage  to  have  a  style  of  humidifyer,  where 
the  cost  of  installing  an  individual  head  is  not  much  greater  than  what 
the  unit  cost  would  be  where  a  number  are  put  in  together,  as  there  are 
often  particular  places  remote  from  one  another,  where  air  moistening 
might  be  useful  and  where  one  head  would  suffice. 

Amount  of  Water  Vaporised,  and  Power  Required. 
The  percentage  of  the  water  passing  through  the  apparatus,  that 
can  be  vaporized,  will  probably  run  between  the  limits  of  3  pet  cent 
and  25  per  cent.,  so  some  styles  of  humidifyers  will  obviously  take  care 
of  a  greater  area  than  others. 


130  HUMIDIFICATION   IN    TEXTILE   MILLS 

There  is  a  style  of  humidifyer,  also,  which  simply  atomizes  all  of  the 
water  supplied  to  it,  just  as  an  ordinary  atomizer  would  do. 

There  is  much  difference,  too,  in  the  power  required  for  operation, 
and  when  power  is  expensive  this  point  should  be  carefully  considered. 

Where  only  a  small  percentage  of  water  is  vaporized,  and  when  water 
has  to  be  paid  for,  the  waste  water  can  be  pumped  back  into  the  system, 
but  at  the  expense  of  some  extra  power. 

When  hot  dry  days  occur,  the  power  used  in  connection  with  the 
moistening  is  considerable,  as  a  large  amount  of  moisture  must  be 
supplied.  Those  systems  which  also  keep  the  temperature  down  to  a 
comfortable  point,  will  use  much  less  power  at  such  times,  as  the  cooler 
air  requires  less  moisture. 

The  cost  of  power,  in  any  event,  cannot  weigh  with  the  benefits  to 
be  attained. 

The  vaporization  of  the  water  should  be  so  complete  that  it  cannot 
fall  like  dew  or  rain  on  the  goods  or  on  the  machinery,  doing  damage 
and  creating  rust. 

Use  of  Steam,  and  Other  Methods  of  Air  Moistening. 

Many  manufacturers  have  put  into  use  moistening  devices  of  their 
own  contriving,  as  by  allowing  exhaust  steam  to  enter  the  air  ducts, 
when  mills  are  heated  by  hot  air,  and  so  distributing  the  moisture 
through  the  buildings,  or  by  blowing  steam  directly  into  the  rooms. 

This  direct  use  of  steam  is  carried  at  times  to  such  an  extent  that  I 
have  seen  in  the  spinning  rooms  of  linen  mills  in  Belfast,  where  fine 
yarns  such  as  200-1  were  being  spun,  the. atmosphere  thick  with  steam 
and  everything  warm  and  dripping  wet.  The  operatives  wore  clothes  at 
their  work  different  from  those  they  went  home  in,  and  were  barefooted, 
and  the  floors  were  made  of  large,  smooth  tiles. 

This  use  of  steam  has  been  much  condemned  in  many  quarters,  and 
claims  have  been  made  that  such  conditions  were  unhealthful,  but  this 
does  not  seem  at  all  to  have  been  proved.  Anyway,  there  are  better 
methods. 

The  keeping  of  the  floors  wet  with  water  has  ever  been  a  common 
and  not  ineffective  device,  and  for  the  storage  and  "conditioning"  of 
yarn,  special  floors  have  been  arranged,  grooved  with  many  channels, 
or  miniature  canals,  all  filled  with  water,  and  which  made  the  atmos- 
phere sufficiently  moist  for  the  purpose. 

Value  of  Humidification  Immediately  Apparent. 

Let  humidifyers  once  be  introduced  in  a  mill  and  their  value  at  once 
becomes  apparent.  When  a  dry  day  conies,  and  there  is  trouble  all 
along  the  line,  everything  will  be  running  as  smoothly  as  ever  within 
a  few  minutes  after  the  humidifyers  have  been  turned  on,  and,  if  they 
are  shut  off,  under  such  circumstances,  the  trouble  promptly  reappears. 

Again,  if  a  poor  lot  of  silk  or  other  yarn  is  passing  through  the  ma- 


HUMIDIFICATION   IN    TEXTILE   MILLS  131 

chinery,  which  may  be  deficient  in  strength  or  elasticity,  or  "twitty," 
much  improvement  can  be  made,  even  on  a  day  of  normal  humidity,  by 
moistening  the  air  to  an  extra  degree. 

Whether  the  system  be  introduced  in  the  weave  room,  in  the  throw- 
ing mill,  or  for  the  preparatory  work,  the  good  effects  are  alike  appar- 
ent, and  a  marked  increase  in  both  quantity  and  quality  of  product  is 
soon  noticeable. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  one  who  has  installed  a  good  moistening  sys- 
tem has  ever  discontinued  its  use,  and  a  constantly  extending  use  is  the 
rule. 

Reduction  of  Wastage. 

As  increase  of  product  means  decrease  of  waste,  it  follows  that 
a  great  saving  of  waste  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  humidification. 

Serious  waste  is  often  encountered  in  weaving  cop  yarns,  when, 
owing  to  the  drying  out  of  the  yarn  on  the  tubes,  the  cops  become  loose 
and  are  knocked  off  their  tubes  while  weaving,  and  the  same  is  true 
of  tram  that  has  been  standing  for  some  time,  when  wound  on  quills. 

This  can  be  avoided  by  having  humidifyers  in  the  stock  rooms  and 
store  rooms,  by  the  use  of  which  the  yarn  is  prevented  from  drying 
out,  and  the  air  should  be  kept  moistened  wherever  the  silk  on  quills 
is  stored. 

It  is  in  these  directions  that  systems  in  which  single  heads  can  be 
operated  separately,  have  a  marked  advantage. 

In  cold  weather,  the  moistening  of  the  air  not  only  improves  the 
work,  but  makes  the  operatives  feel  warmer  and  more  comfortable,  for, 
owing  to  the  diminished  evaporation  from  the  skin,  a  person  will  feel 
warmer  in  a  moist  air  of  70  degrees  than  in  a  very  dry  air  of  80 
degrees. 

Hygrometers  and  Humidity. 

To  know  what  the  moisture  present  in  the  air  is,  hygrometers 
should  be  placed  in  the  various  rooms  and  it  is  well  to  have  plenty  of 
them,  as,  even  in  the  same  room,  the  humidity  will  vary  from  place  to 
place. 

These  hygrometers  should  be  of  the  best  character  if  good  results 
are  to  be  had,  and  many  cheap  hygrometers  are  worse  than  useless, 
for  they  are  apt  to  be  seriously  misleading. 

The  standard  of  humidity  to  be  set  will  vary  according  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  work  in  the  department,  the  material  that  is  being  used,  and 
the  experience  gained  by  the  management  in  practice. 

Temperature  and  humidity  are  closely  related.  In  a  very  hot  at- 
mosphere, the  moisture  that  can  be  taken  up  by  the  air  is  very  great, 
and  the  saturation  point  is  high.  On  a  very  cold,  frosty  day,  the 
reverse  will  be  the  case. 

It  is  stated  that  in  1,000  grains  of  atmospheric  air  the  moisture  will 
range  from  a  minimum  of  4  to  a  maximum  of  16  grains.  (Chambers' 
Encyclopaedia.) 


132 


HUMIDIFICATION   IN    TEXTILE   MILLS 


The  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  atmospheric  air  at  32°  F.,  and  under 
a  tension  of  I  atmosphere,  is  527  grains. 

Diagram  of  Saturation. 

A  "Diagram  of  Saturation"  is  here  presented,  the  curve  which  has 
been  plotted  showing  the  maximum  moisture,  in  grains,  which  the  air 
will  absorb  at  temperatures  from  40°  to  100°  F. 


WEIGHT  OF  AQUEOUS  VAPOR  PER  CUBIC  FOOT  IN  GRAINS. 

DIAGRAM  OF  SATURATION. 

TEMPERATURE  -  FAHRENHEIT 
0-35-30-25  -20  -15  -1ft    -5     0     6     10    15    20    26    30    36    40    45    60  65    60    65    70    76    80    85    80    95  100 

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Maintaining  the  Proper  Humidity. 

A  fair  normal  average  of  heat  and  moisture  conditions  might  be 
stated  as  a  temperature  of  70°  F.,  and  a  humidity  of  70  per  cent.  This 
may  afford  a  good  basis  to  work  on,  though,  as  it  is  well  to  keep  on 
the  safe  side  of  the  moisture,  the  writer  would  suggest  75  per  cent,  as 
a  good  standard. 

Before  starting  time  in  the  morning,  the  person  to  whose  care  this 
matter  is  committed  should  visit  each  room,  observe  the  hygrometers, 
and  put  the  humidifyers  into  action  where  necessary.  In  the  winter 
time,  this  person  can  also  regulate  the  heating  if  desired. 

During  the  day,  the  foreman  in  charge  of  the  floor  should  see  that 
the  proper  moisture  is  maintained  at  those  times  when  artificial  humidi- 
fication  has  to  be  resorted  to.  It  may  be  well  to  set  limits  such  as  to 


HUMIDIFICATION   IN    TEXTILE   MILLS  133 

turn  on  moisture  at  72°  hygrometer  readings,  and  shut  it  off  at  77°. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  at  such  times  the  windows  should  be  kept 
closed,  as  it  is  no  part  of  the  scheme  to  try  to  moisten  all  out  of 
doors. 

In  systems  having  automatic  regulation  all  this  trouble  is  avoided. 

Other  Advantages  to  be  Gained. 

This  ability  to  constantly  maintain  certain  standards  of  humidity 
also  assists  in  other  ways,  as  there  is  then  no  undue  stretching  of  belt- 
ing or  strapping,  no  shuttles  too  loose  in  their  boxes,  no  excessively 
dried-out  Jacquard  cards,  or  harnesses,  to  break  or  wear  out  speedily, 
etc.,  etc. 

A  careful  consideration  of  the  foregoing  should  convince  any 
manufacturer  that  here  is  a  matter  of  real  importance,  and,  if  he 
be  not  already  using  humidifyers,  he  should  take  early  steps  to  equip 
himself  in  this  direction  with,  at  least,  an  experimental  installation. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  hope  that  the  total  annual  output  of  many 
mills  might  be  increased  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  by  the  regular  and 
intelligent  use  of  these  facilities,  and  such  a  prospective  gain  as  this 
would  warrant  installations  of  a  far  more  expensive  character  than  any 
humidifyer  system. 

Those  who  have  yarns  for  sale,  and  who  are  often  subject  to  much 
loss  of  weight  while  it  is  lying  in  stock,  can  thus  protect  themselves 
against  loss. 

Unscrupulous  persons  also  can,  and  no  doubt  do,  use  this  means  to 
unduly  moisten  their  goods,  and  thus  make  their  customers  pay  for 
water  instead  of  yarn.  By  the  use  of  the  facilities  offered  by  the  condi- 
tioning houses  for  ascertaining  the  moisture  in  textiles,  these  abuses, 
however,  can  be  readily  kept  in  check. 


XIII 

THE  TESTING,  OR  CONDITIONING,  OF  SILK  AND  OTHER 

FIBRES. 


Much  has  been  written  and  spoken  about  silk  conditioning,  and  the 
subject  is  a  very  old  one.  It  might  be  supposed  that  no  silk  manu- 
facturer could  fail  to  be  thoroughly  informed  on  this  important  matter, 
but  quite  the  reverse  is  the  case.  Surprisingly  few  of  the  men  who  are 
constantly  paying  out  large  sums  of  money  for  silk  seem  to  take  much 
interest  in  the  question,  and  while  many  manufacturers  talk  glibly  about 
conditioning,  as  if  they  knew  all  about  it,  one  does  not  have  to  go 
much  below  the  surface  to  find  how  little  they  do  know. 

Ignorance  Regarding  Conditioning. 

This  ignorance  is  due  to  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  importance  to 
them,  in  money,  of  this  testing.  The  subject  is  a  technical  one,  and 
there  are  many  manufacturers  who  pride  themselves  on  being  "practi- 
cal," and  sneer  at  anything  that  may  be  termed  theoretical,  and  condi- 
tioning with  them  comes  under  this  head.  Others  will  not  take  the 
trouble  to  inform  themselves,  and  others,  again,  appear  to  be  mentally 
unable  to  grasp  the  facts  when  laid  before  them.  However,  just  let 
them  once  thoroughly  understand  that  a  failure  to  make  use  of  the  test- 
ing facilities  within  their  reach  is  costing  every  mother's  son  of  them 
hard  cash,  and  a  lot  of  it,  every  year,  and  they  will  waken  up  to  the 
fact  that  they  have  not  been  so  "practical"  as  they  supposed,  and  will 
probably  then  take  a  lively  interest  in  the  subject.  There  are,  of  course, 
many  manufacturers  who  are  exceptions,  but  they  are  in  the  great 
minority. 

Opportunities  of  Loss. 

A  purchaser  of  a  lot  of  silk  at  $4.00  a  pound  will  be  very  careful  to 
see  that  he  is  not  charged  $4.05  or  $4.10  a  pound  for  it ;  and,  if  he  were, 


TESTING   OR   CONDITIONING  135 

the  bill  would  promptly  go  back  for  correction.  He  would  not  even 
consent  to  a  charge  of  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  more  than  he  has  agreed 
to  pay.  At  the  same  time,  he  complacently  accepts,  in  many  cases,  a 
less  quantity  of  silk  than  he  should:  get  for  his  $4.00,  and  the  fact  that 
he  may  only  be  getting  $3.90  worth,  more  or  less,  seems  to  have  entirely 
escaped  him. 

What  would  be  thought  of  the  business  sanity  of  a  butcher,  or  a 
grocer,  who  would  habitually  and  cheerfully  accept  one  or  two  pounds 
short  weight  on  every  hundred  that  he  bought?  And  yet  this  is  what 
lots  of  manufacturers  of  silk  are  doing,  simply  because,  owing  to  the 
peculiar  nature  of  silk,  the  loss  is  not  apparent,  and  what  they  cannot 
see  they  do  not  believe.  Is  it  not  as  important  to  verify  the  weight  as 
it  is  to  check  the  price  ? 

Again,  if  a  manufacturer  buys  a  certain  size  of  silk  for  his  goods,  it 
is  most  important  that  he  should  be  sure  that  it  is  within  the  commer- 
cial limits  of  that  size.  If  heavier,  he  will  be  getting  too  much  silk  into 
his  goods,  and,  once  thrown,  it  cannot  be  returned  to  the  silk  merchant 
and  has  got  to  be  swallowed.  Proper  determinations,  made  in  advance 
by  the  Conditioning  House,  will  give  him  a  close  approximation  of  the 
size ;  and,  if  finer  or  coarser  than  contracted  for,  he  can  demand  a  sub- 
stitution of  the  proper  size. 

Meaning  of  "Conditioning." 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  word  "conditioning"  has  been  used  in  this 
country  to  describe  the  operations  we  are  referring  to.  Few  people 
understand  just  what  it  means,  and  the  terms  "Conditioning  House" 
and  "conditioned  weight"  are  too  often  meaningless  names,  while  names 
like  "Testing  House"  or  "certified  weight"  would  be  understood. 

Anyway,  conditioning  is  simply  the  making  of  carefully  devised  tests 
for  ascertaining  the  actual  weight,  under  accepted  conditions,  of  the 
substance  tested.  In  silk,  tests  are  made  for  weight,  for  size,  and  for 
boil-off,  and,  less  frequently,  for  tenacity  (breaking  strength),  and 
for  elasticity.  Twist  is  also  determined  and  length  of  skeins  measured. 

Tests  that  may  Profitably  be  Made. 

It  is  equally  important  in  the  woolen  and  worsted  industries  that 
proper  tests  should  be  made,  but  in  this  country  such  testing,  except  in 
a  few  rare  instances,  is  almost  unknown.  On  the  Continent  and  in 
England,  however,  free  use  is  made  by  these  trades  of  testing  facilities. 

Cotton  and  cotton  yarn,  absorbing  moisture  from  the  air  less  freely, 
and  being  of  lower  cost,  have  not  invited  such  careful  checking  off; 
but,  none  the  less,  if  all  sales  were  based  on  conditioned  weight,  many 
abuses  would  be  corrected. 

A  testing  house  may  also  have  a  laboratory  equipped  to  make  chem- 
ical and  physical  tests  of  all  sorts  of  substances.  Such  a  commodity  as 
soap  is  largely  used  by  silk  mills.  Good  and  very  dry  white  olive  oil 


136  TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING 

soap  showed,  in  various  tests  made  by  the  writer,  a  moisture  averag- 
ing 141/2%,  the  different  tests  coming  very  near  to  each  other.  A  sam- 
ple case  of  soap  from  another  maker,  being  tested,  showed  a  loss  of 
25%,  and  yet  it  was  not  unduly  damp.  Soap  is  not  silk,  yet  a  difference 
of  10^2%,  where  it  is  largely  used,  is  important. 

Oils  may  be  tested  to  determine  the  amount  of  fatty  acids  or  other 
undesirable  constituents  in  them,  or  to  see  if  they  contain  admixtures  of 
foreign  matter  which  would  make  them  undesirable  for  use,  and  also 
to  find  out  the  percentage  of  fatty  matter,  or  olein,  contained  in  the  oil, 
for,  of  course,  the  richer  it  is  the  less  of  it  will  need  to  be  used. 

Other  determinations  that  might  be  useful  would  be  tests  on  paper 
for  moisture,  thickness  and  strength ;  on  coal  to  show  its  calorific  value ; 
on  harness  twine  for  strength  and  other  properties;  on  leather  and 
leather  belting,  and  on  many  other  things. 

Very  important,  too,  for  dyers  and  printers,  is  the  determining  of 
the  purity  of  chemicals  and  the  strength  of  dye-stuffs  and  coloring 
matters,  a  branch  of  investigation  that  does  not  receive  anything  like 
the  attention  that  its  importance  demands.  Tests  to  show  character  and 
purity  of  water  are  also  of  importance. 

The  number  of  directions  in  which  the  aid  of  the  chemical  and  physi- 
cal facilities  of  a  well-equipped  testing  house  may  be  of  great  money 
value  to  any  manufacturer  is  obvious.  At  any  rate,  no  textile  mill  can 
afford  to  neglect  the  conditioning  of  its  raw  materials,  be  they  cotton 
yarns,  raw-silk,  wool  or  what  not ;  and  as  most  excellent  testing  facili- 
ties for  textiles  in  the  shape  of  an  admirably  equipped  Conditioning  and 
Testing  House,  have  been  furnished  in  New  York  by  public-spirited 
gentlemen,  it  would  seem  to  be  the  duty,  as  well  as  the  interest,  of  all 
silk  manufacturers  to  make  free  use  of  such  services. 

The  neglect  of  these  opportunities  in  the  past  has  been  doubtless  due 
to  the  ignorance  of  manufacturers,  who,  unable  to  visibly  see  that  their 
weights  were  incorrect,  did  not  believe  that  they  might  be.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  visibly  did  see  that  they  were  parting  with  real  money 
for  getting  tests  made,  and  so  they  concluded  that  this  was  an  unneces- 
sary expense,  and  they  cut  it  out,  and,  when  short-weight  silk,  but 
moister  than  it  should  be,  was  delivered  to  them,  they  paid  for  it  with- 
out a  thought  of  loss.  The  penny  was  so  near  to  their  eye  that  they 
were  unable  to  see  the  dollar  just  beyond. 

Experiences  as  to  the  Profit  of  Conditioning. 

The  writer's  experience  in  the  testing  of  silk,  purchasing  only  good 
grades  and  from  the  best  houses,  is  that  errors  in  the  weights  of  As- 
iatic silks  were  sufficiently  numerous  that  the  reclamations  that  could 
properly  be  made  on  the  sellers  paid  for  the  conditioning  charges  twice 
over,  and  this  on  a  basis  of  testing  one  bale  out  of  every  three.  On 
poor-grade  silks,  and  with  houses  that  were  not  very  careful,  the 
amount  to  be  claimed  would  certainly  not  be  less. 


TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING  .  137 

On  the  Continent  of  Europe,  business  people  do  not  make  expendi- 
tures that  add  to  the  expenses  of  their  business  as  freely  as  do  Ameri- 
cans. In  fact,  we  take  pride  in  our  liberal  expenditures,  and  rather 
look  down  upon  the  parsimonious  methods  of  other  peoples.  Having  in 
view  this  national  trait,  one  would  expect  to  find  in  the  United  States, 
if  anywhere,  the  freest  expenditure  for  every  legitimate  object,  and 
surely  the  ascertaining  of  the  correct  weight  of  the  silk  one  is  called  on 
to  pay  for  is  a  legitimate  object.  But  what  are  the  facts? 

The  economical  Europeans  find  that  they  can  afford  to  pay  for  the 
conditioning  of  nearly  55,000,000  pounds  of  raw  and  thrown  silk  in 
a  single  year  (1907).  The  manufacturers  of  the  United  States,  using 
about  two-thirds  as  much  silk  as  Europe,  with  all  their  boasted  liber- 
ality can  only  point  to  the  pitiful  total  of  about  400,00x3  pounds  tested 
in  the  same  period. 

(It  is  pleasant  to  note  here  that  the  campaign  of  education  on  the 
subject  of  Conditioning  has  been  so  successful  that,  by  the  year  1912, 
the  weight  conditioned  had  risen  to  2,678,037  pounds,  placing  New 
York  fourth  among  the  conditioning  houses  of  the  world  in  the  amount 
of  testing  done.) 

The  fact  is  that  in  Europe  they  have  learned  by  experience  that  the 
only  safe  and  satisfactory  way,  for  both  the  buyer  and  the  seller,  is  to 
have  the  weight  of  the  silk  checked  off  every  time  it  changes  hands, 
and  that  it  is  money  in  their  pockets  to  pay  for  and  have  made  the 
necessary  tests.  The  sooner  that  we  on  this  side  of  the  water  take  the 
same  lesson  to  heart,  the  better. 

Conditions  under  which  Tests  are  Made. 

There  is  no  need  here  to  go  into  a  description  of  the  exact  methods 
employed  in  the  conditioning  houses,  or  the  bases  upon  which  they 
make  their  tests.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  entire  secrecy  is  observed,  inside 
as  well  as  outside,  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  various  lots ;  that  the  best- 
built  and  most  accurate  machinery  and  apparatus  that  can  be  devised 
are  employed  in  the  work ;  that  great  care  is  taken  to  insure,  as  far  as 
possible,  that  the  samples  selected  for  testing  shall  fairly  represent  the 
average  of  the  lots;  and  that  the  gentlemen  in  charge  of  such  estab- 
lishments are  selected  with  special  reference  to  their  expert  knowledge, 
as  well  as  for  their  character  and  ability.  To  this  it  may  be  added  that 
many  able  and  experienced  silk  manufacturers,  of  large  technical 
knowledge,  are  constantly  giving  much  time  and  thought  to  the  prob- 
lems involved  in  the  various  kinds  of  tests,  and  from  time  to  time  im- 
proved methods  have  been,  and  in  the  future  will  be,  evolved. 

Any  one  interested  in  learning  the  nature  of  the  tests  upon  which 
the  conditioning  houses  base  their  conclusions,  can  procure  from  them 
printed  matter  on  the  subject,  in  which  the  methods  employed  are  fully 
set  forth. 

A  manufacturer,  when  giving  instructions  to  a  raw-silk  merchant 


138  TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING 

as  to  the  shipping  of  his  silk,  may  order  two  bales  out  of  each  five,  or, 
better  still,  all  of  them,  sent  to  the  Conditioning  House  for  tests.  The 
testing  may  take  two  or  three  days,  and  then  they  follow  along  to  the 
throwster  after  the  others.  The  tests  made  are  principally  for  weight, 
size,  and  boil-off.  From  these  tests  the  percentage  of  loss  or  gain  in 
weight  over  the  invoice  weight  is  arrived  at  for  the  whole  of  the 
shipment. 

Terms  and  Conditions  of  Raw-silk  Trading. 

The  manufacturer  should  familiarize  himself  with  the  terms  and 
conditions  on  which  raw-silk  is  sold  on  the  New  York  market,  so  as  to 
know  exactly  what  he  is  entitled  to,  and  the  tests  he  has  made  will  then 
prove  to  him  whether  he  is  getting  all  that  he  is  paying  for,  or  not. 

Certain  "Rules  and  Regulations  to  govern  transactions  in  the  Silk 
Trade  of  the  United  States"  have  been  approved  by  the  Silk  Associa- 
tion of  America,  and  these  Rules,  as  amended  August  Qth,  1911,  I  have 
here  transcribed,  as  much  of  the  matter  contained  therein  has  a  close 
connection  with  the  subject  in  hand. 

The  first  section  of  these  Rules  applies  to  dealings  in  raw-silk,  and 
the  second  section  deals  with  transactions  in  the  throwing  of  silk. 

A  list  of  classification  names  for  raw-silks  is  also  appended. 

RAW   SILK   RULES   AND    REGULATIONS 

To  Govern  Transactions  Between  Buyers  and  Sellers  in 

THE   UNITED    STATES   OF   AMERICA 

Approved  by  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Silk  Association 
of  America,  May  22,  1908,  and  amended  August  9,  1911. 

RULES 

NOTE. — It  is  understood  that  nothing  in  the  following  rules 
shall  be  construed  as  waiving  the  right  in  individual  transactions 
to  make  any  special  or  distinct  contrary  agreement,  but  that  the 
rules  shall  govern  only  in  cases  where  no  special  or  specific  con- 
tract exists. 

SALES  OF  SPECIFIED  OR  IDENTIFIABLE  LOTS  OF  SILK  from 
stock,  or  to  arrive,  for  prompt,  or  future  delivery  (as  for  instance, 
of  a  lot  giving  marks  and  numbers,  or  a  specified  lot  of  a  specified 
chop  or  grade,  or  in  any  other  manner  identifiable  and  distinct 
from  other  silks),  are  cancelled  (unless  contract  calls  for  replace- 
ment) by  destruction  of  such  silks  by  fire,  flood,  marine  disaster, 
or  other  unavoidable  casualty  prior  to  delivery  dates  as  called  for 
by  contract;  or  by  the  insolvency  of  reeler,  or  by  damage  to,  or 
destruction  of,  the  producing  factory  prior  to  delivery  by  the  reeler. 
NOTE. — The  Buyer  can  protect  himself  by  taking  out  addi- 
tional marine  and/or  fire  insurance. 

SALES  OF  AN  UNSPECIFIED  LOT  OF  A  GIVEN  QUALITY, 
GRADE,  CLASS  AND  SIZE  OF  SILK  (as  for  instance,  a  sale 
of  100  bales  Japan  Filatures  No.  1  at  a  given  price  and  delivery), 
cannot  be  voided  except  by  mutual  consent  of  Buyer  and  Seller. 
Delay  in  actual  transit,  damage,  or  destruction  of  an  unspecified  lot 
of  silk,  where  a  similar  lot  is  not  obtainable  on  the  New  York 
market,  gives  the  Seller  a  reasonable  period  (to  be  determined  by 
arbitration  in  case  of  dispute)  in  which  to  replace. 


TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING  139 

DELIVERIES.  Sales  for  delivery  on  a  given  date,  demand  delivery  or 
readiness  for  delivery  on  the  date  specified. 

Sales  ifori  delivery  on  arrival  on  or  about  a  given  date,  give 
Seller  the  right  of  delivery  15  days  earlier  or  later  than  the  date 
specified. 

Sales  for  delivery  within  a  given  period,  give  Seller  the  right 
of  delivery  at  any  time  within  the  period  specified,  unless  the  con- 
tract calls  for  specific  deliveries  during  said  period. 

Where  more  than  one  month  is  named  without  other  specifica- 
tion, delivery  is  understood  as  approximately  equal  portions  during 
each  month. 

Seller  should  notify  Buyer  of  readiness  to  deliver  in  accordance 
with  contract  terms  of  delivery,  and  Buyer  is  under  equal  obliga- 
tion to  call  for  silk  when  due  him,  but  inadvertent  failure  of  either 
party  to  tender  or  call  for  delivery,  shall  not  void  contract  where 
readiness  to  deliver  can  be  proved. 

Delivery  by  Seller  to  common  carrier,  or  agent  of  Buyer  in 
compliance  with  oral  or  written  instructions  of  Buyer,  or  party 
ordering  shipment,  is  at  the  risk  of  said  Buyer,  or  party  ordering 
shipment. 

SHIPMENTS  FROM  ABROAD.  Sales  for  shipment  on  or  before  a 
given  date,  demand  shipment  on  or  before  the  date  specified. 

Sales  for  shipment  on  or  about  a  given  date,  give  Seller  the 
right  of  shipment  15  days  earlier  or  later  than  the  date  specified. 

Sales  for  shipment  within  a  given  period,  give  Seller  the  right 
of  shipment  at  any  time  within  the  period  specified,  unless  the 
contract  calls  for  specific  shipments  during  said  period. 

Date  of  bill  of  lading  shall  be  construed  as  giving  date  of 
shipment. 

DEFERRED  DELIVERIES  (except  by  request  of  Seller),  if  billed  but 
not  shipped,  or  not  billed  because  of  Buyer's  request,  are  at  the 
risk  of  Buyer,  who  shall  pay  interest,  storage  and  fire  insurance. 
Seller  shall  exercise  due  care  and  diligence  in  the  storing,  handling 
and  insuring  of  such  silk,  shall  insure  it  at  market  value  as  prop- 
erty sold  but  not  delivered,  but  shall  not  be  liable  for  any  other 
matter  or  thing  occurring  during  the  period  of  the  deferred  de- 
livery. Total  or  partial  loss  by  fire  shall  constitute  a  good  delivery 
of  such  silks,  destoyed  or  damaged,  and  the  amount  owing  Seller 
shall  thereupon  become  due  and  payable  in  accordance  with  terms 
of  contract,  but  Seller  shall  credit  or  refund  Buyer  with  whatever 
amount  may  be  received  from  the  underwriters  on  silk  so  destroyed 
or  damaged.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Seller  to  diligently  enforce 
the  collection  of  any  claim  covered  by  the  policies  of  fire  insurance, 
and  expenses  incurred  in  so  doing  shall  be  deducted  from  the 
amount  recovered. 

WEIGHTS— Actual  Weight  and  Tare  is  weight  as  taken  at  the  time  of 
delivery,  or  billing  date  (if  delivery  is  deferred),  less  actual  tare 
of  bags,  papers  and  strings. 

Invoice  Weight  is  net  weight  as  invoiced  by  Seller  or  Seller's 
agent  at  point  from  which  originally  shipped. 

Conditioned  Weight  of  silk  is  the  absolute  dry  weight  plus  11 
per  cent. 

To  ascertain  conditioned  weight  of  a  lot  of  Asiatic  silks  sold 
conditioned  weight,  at  least  two  bales  out  of  every  five  bales  (or 
less)  of  a  lot  shall  be  tested  at  Conditioning  House  in  New  York. 
The  average  of  all  tests  must  be  accepted  as  the  basis  for  the 


140  TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING 

entire    lot,   and    expense    of   conditioning   divided    equally    between 
Buyer  and  Seller. 

Questions  Over  Actual  and/or  Invoice  Weight  must  be  ad- 
justed by  Buyer  notifying  Seller  that  he  wishes  the  lot  rebilled  to 
him  conditioned  weight  plus  the  customary  2  per  cent,  for  Japan 
Silks,  China  Steam  Filatures  and  Canton  Filatures,  and  plus  2j4  per 
cent,  for  China  Rereels  and  Canton  Rereels,  and  Buyer  must  then 
send  at  least  two  original  bales  out  of  every  five  bales  (or  less) 
of  the  lot,  to  be  conditioned  at  Conditioning  House  in  New  York, 
in  accordance  with  the  rule  for  "Conditioned  Weight."  Result  shall 
be  accepted  by  Buyer  and  Seller,  whether  to  their  benefit  or  loss, 
and  conditioning  costs  borne  by  losing  party.  Unless  false  or 
fraudulent  weights  can  be  shown,  conditioning  tests  by  Buyer,  or 
his  agent,  before  notifying  Seller  that  conditioned  weight  will  be 
accepted,  cancels  Buyer's  claim  to  weight  adjustment,  and  evidence 
that  such  prior  conditioning  tests  have  not  been  made  must  be 
furnished,  if  desired. 

Japan  Silks,  China  Steam  Filatures,  Canton  Filatures  are  sold 
New  York  conditioned  weight  plus  2  per  cent.,  or  actual  weight, 
or  invoice  weight,  or  conditioned  weight. 

China  Rereels,  Canton  Rereels  are  sold  New  York  conditioned 
weight  plus  2l/z  per  cent.,  or  actual  weight,  or  invoice  weight,  or 
conditioned  weight. 

European  Silks  are  sold  conditioned  weight,  and  European  Con- 
ditioning House  tests  must  be  accepted,  unless  Buyer  chooses,  at 
his  own  expense,  to  have  the  silk  reconditioned  in  New  York. 
Should  the  result  be  ^  of  one  per  cent,  less  than  European  con- 
ditioned weights,  Seller  must  accept  the  New  York  conditioned! 
weights  and  pay  costs  of  the  reconditioning;  each  bale  to  be  treated 
individually. 

Tussahs  are  sold  invoice  weights,  or  actual  weights  carrying  no 
guarantee  of  loss  in  weight  by  conditioning. 

Spun  and  Schappe  Silks  are  sold  Seller's  invoice  weights,  but 
such  weight  shall  not  exceed  conditioned  weight. 

Bale  Weights.  A  contract  calls  for  the  delivery  of  a  number  of 
bales  or  pounds  varying  on  the  average  not  more  than  5  per  cent, 
from  the  following  usual  bale  weights: 

Europeans    220        pounds     net 

Japans  135 

Shanghais    135 

Tussahs    135 

Cantons    106% 

Variation  in  weight  beyond  the  allowed  5  per  cent.,  shall  not 
be  cause  for  cancellation  of  contract,  but  may  be  adjusted  with 
Seller  at  market  rates  at  the  time  of  delivery. 

ADULTERATION.  Shanghai  Rereels  and  Native  Filatures  are  guaran- 
teed by  Seller  not  to  lose  more  than  22  per  cent,  by  boil-off  at 
Conditioning  House  in  New  York.  Buyer  and  Seller  may  have  as 
many  tests  made  as  they  see  fit,  at  their  own  expense,  and  the 
average  of  all  such  tests  shall  govern. 

VARIATION  OF  SIZE.  The  average  size  under  contract  shall  not  vary 
more  than  given  below  for  different  classes  and  grades  of  .silk. 
In  cases  of  dispute,  Buyer  and  Seller  shall  arrange  to  have  sizing 
tests  made  at  the  Conditioning  House  in  New  York,  computed  on 
the  conditioned  weight  of  the  sizing  skeins;  such  tests  are  limited 
to  five  per  bale  and  their  average  shall  determine  the  size  of  the 
silk  in  the  bale.  For  Asiatics,  the  average  of  all  bales  of  a  lot 


TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING  141 

shall  determine  the  average  of  the  lot,  and  if  more  than  one-third 
of  the  bales  in  each  individual  lot  are  of  wrong  size,  such  entire 
lot  may  be  rejected;  otherwise,  only  the  incorrect  bales  may  be 
rejected.  European  bales  are  treated  individually.  Test  skeins 
must  be  drawn  from  the  bales  by  the  Conditioning  House,  and  the 
total  expense  of  such  tests  must  be  borne  by  the  losing  party. 

European  Silks.  European  Conditioning  House  sizing  tickets 
shall  be  final,  unless  demonstrated  to  be  wrong  by  Conditioning 
House  at  New  York.  EXTRA  CLASSICAL  TO  NO.  1  INCLU- 
SIVE 11/12  AND  FINER  shall  not  vary  more  than  ^  denier  either 
way  from  the  average  given  on  each  and  every  bale. 

From  11/13  to  15/17 l/2  denier  either  way  is  allowed 

From  16718  to  19/21  ft       "  "         "      " 

From  20/22  to  24/26  7/s       «  "         "      « 

From  25/27  to  28/30  1 

Fuller,  the  variation  is  by  agreement. 

Japans.  Seller's  sizing  tests,  or  Yokohama  Conditioning  House 
sizing  tickets  shall  be  final,  unless  demonstrated  to  be  wrong  by 
Conditioning  House  at  New  York.  FANCY  AND  DOUBLE  EX- 
TRA are  governed  by  the  same  rule  as  Europeans.  FILATURES 
AND  REREELS,  EXTRA  TO  NO.  1-1  #  INCLUSIVE,  AND 
BEST  EXTRA  KAKEDAS,  14/16  AND  FINER,  shall  not  vary 
more  than  V2  denier  either  way  for  the  lot,  and  1  denier  for  each 
bale,  from  the  average  given.  FILATURES  AND  REREELS 
NO.  \y2  TO  NO.  2  INCLUSIVE  AND  KAKEDAS  EXTRA  TO 
NO.  1  INCLUSIVE  14/18  AND  FINER,  shall  not  vary  more  than 
1  denier  either  way  for  the  lot,  and  \y2  denier  for  each  bale,  from 
the  average  given.  LOWER  GRADES  carry  no  guarantee  of  size. 

SIZE  16/18  AND  COARSER  IN  FILATURES  NO.  1  AND 
HIGHER  GRADES  shall  not  vary  more  than  the  European  allow- 
ances for  the  lot,  and  l/2  denier  additional  for  each  bale,  from  the 
average  given.  COARSE  SIZES  below  No.  1  carry  no  guarantee 
of  size. 

China  Steam  Filatures.  Seller's  sizing  tests  shall  be  final,  unless 
demonstrated  to  be  wrong  by  Conditioning  House  at  New  York. 
FILATURES  FIRST  CATEGORY  are  governed  by  the  rule  for 
Europeans.  FILATURES  SECOND  CATEGORY  14/16  AND 
FINER  shall  not  vary  more  than  y2  denier  either  way  for  the  lot, 
and  1  denier  for  each  bale,  from  the  average  given.  FILATURES 
THIRD  CATEGORY  14/16  AND  FINER  shall  not  vary  more  than 
Y$  denier  either  way  for  the  lot,  and  1  denier  for  each  bale,  from 
the  average  given. 

Shanghai  Rereels,  Native  Filatures  and  Tussahs  carry  no  guar- 
antee of  size. 

Canton  Filatures.  Seller's  sizing  tests  shall  be  final,  unless  dem- 
onstrated to  be  wrong  by  Conditioning  House  at  New  York. 
DOUBLE  EXTRA  AND  EXTRA  14/16  AND  FINER  shall  not 
vary  more  than  %  denier  either  way  for  the  lot,  and  1J4  denier  for 
each  bale,  from  the  average  given.  16/20  to  28/32  shall  not  vary 
more  than  ll/2  denier  either  way  for  the  lot,  and  2  deniers  for  each 
bale,  from  the  average  given.  FILATURES  NO.  1—14/16  AND 
FINER  shall  not  vary  more  than  1  denier  either  way  for  the  lot, 
and  \y2  denier  for  each  bale,  from  the  average  given. 

Canton  Filatures  No.  2  and  lower,  and  Canton  Rereels,  carry  no  guar- 
antee of  size. 


142  TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING 

Spun  and  Schappe  Silks.  In  case  of  dispute,  Buyer  and  Seller 
shall  arrange  to  have  sizing  tests  made  at  the  Conditioning  House 
in  New  York,  computed  on  the  conditioned  weight  of  the  sizing 
skeins. 

Contracts  for  a  given  "count"  or  "number"  of  yarn  require  a 
delivery  .not  more  than  2l/2  per  cent,  over  or  under  the  specified! 
"count"  or  "number." 

REJECTIONS  AND  REPLACEMENTS.  Any  bales  or  lots  rejected 
for  proper  cause  must  be  replaced  by  Seller  and  accepted  by  Buyer 
within  15  days  of  rejection  agreed  to  by  Seller  or  established  by 
arbitration.  But  where  a  lot  of  contract  brand  or  quality  and  size 
is  not  obtainable  on  the  New  York  market,  the  question  shall  be 
adjusted  by  arbitration.  In  case  of  a  specified  uninspected  lot 
on  a  primary  market — of  which  all  or  a  portion  shall  prove  upon; 
inspection  not  of  the  stipulated  quality  and/or  size — Seller  must 
immediately  notify  Buyer,  who  shall  have  the  option  of  cancelling 
such  incorrect  portion  of  the  contract,  or  of  instructing  Seller  to 
accept  it  with  any  allowance  that  he  may  be  able  to  collect,  or  of 
giving  the  necessary  time  for  replacement. 

CLAIMS  FOR  DIFFERENCE  IN  QUALITY  AND/OR  SIZE.  Seller's 
obligations  to  deliver  raw-silk  of  contract  quality  and  size  is  clearly 
defined.  Buyer  is  under  equal  obligations  to  examine  and  test  silk 
received,  or  tendered  for  delivery  under  contract,  and  promptly  pass 
upon  its  quality  and  size  as  raw-silk  in  the  bale.  This  can  be  de- 
termined by  testing  sample  skeins  of  the  lot  or  one  entire  bale; 
Buyer  must  then  accept,  or  immediately  notify  Seller  of  intention 
to  reject  the  balance  of  the  lot.  All  claims  must  be  made  within 
fifteen  days  after  delivery,  or  original  tender  of  delivery,  in  ac- 
cordance with  terms  of  contract,  even  if  the  actual  delivery  of  the 
silk  be  deferred  by  request  of  buyer.  (Notice  to  this  effect  shall 
be  inserted  on  contract  or  notice  of  tender  of  delivery.)  After 
the  above  period  of  fifteen  days,  no  claim  shall  be  admissible  unless 
false  or  fraudulent  packing  can  be  shown.  In  no  case  can  the  Seller 
be  held  as  guaranteeing  the  working  of  the  silk,  or  its  suitability 
to  produce  certain  results,  unless  by  special  agreement. 
ARBITRATION.  All  differences  arising  between  Buyer  and  Seller  must 
be  submitted  to  the  Arbitration  Committee  of  the  Silk  Association 
of  America. 
SELLING  TERMS. 

The  recognized  rate  of  discount  in  the  silk  trade  is  6  per  cent. 
per  annum  when  not  otherwise  stated  or  agreed. 

Offers  of  silk  when  not  otherwise  stated  imply: 

6  months  basis  for  Asiatics. 
60  days  basis  for  Europeans. 

Six  Months'  Notes,  4  Months'  Notes,  3  Months'  Notes,  or  60 
.Days'  Notes.  Such  sales  convey  no  right  to  discount.  Within  30 
days  from  date  of  bill,  Buyer  must  give  his  note  for  the  period 
specified,  bearing  same  date  as  bill,  drawn  to  his  own  order,  blank 
endorsed  and  payable  at  discretionary  points  as  defined  by  New 
York  Clearing  House. 

Six  Months'  Notes,  or  Cash  Less  3  Per  Cent,  implies  the  right 
of  Buyer  to  pay  his  bill  within  10  days  (which  are  not  discountable) 
by  deducting  3  per  cent,  from  the  face  thereof;  otherwise  he  must 
give  6  months'  notes  from  date  of  bill  as  above  provided. 

Four  months'  Notes,  or  Cash  Less  2  Per  cent,  are  governed  in 
principle  by  the  above  terms. 


TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING  143 

Ninety  Days'  Notes,  or  Cash  Less  1*4  Per  Cent,  are  governed 
in  principle  by  the  above  terms. 

Ninety  Days,  Sixty  Days,  or  Thirty  Days — requires  that  the  bill 
must  be  paid  within  the  time  .specified. 

Six  Months'  Basis,  '  Payment  Within  30  Days,  or  60  Days  or 
90  Days  (as  written)  requires  payment  at  any  time  within  period 
stated,  with  discount  for  unexpired  portion  of  the  six  months. 

Six  Months'  Basis,  Settlement  by  Note  or  Cash  Within  30  Days, 
or  60  Days,  or  90  Days  (as  written)  gives  Buyer  the  option  of  pay- 
ing (at  any  time  within  the  stipulated  period  for  settlement)  in  cash 
less  discount  for  unexpired  portion  of  the  six  months,  or  giving* 
(at  any  time  within  the  stipulated  period  for  settlement)  his  six 
months'  note  from  date  of  bill. 

Cash  Sales  less  a  stipulated  discount  require  immedaite  pay- 
ment of  the  bill  less  the  specified  discount. 

Bankers'  Credit  Sales  require  the  Buyer  to  immediately  furnish 
approved  Credits  at  the  usance  agreed  upon  in  the  transaction.  For 
such  sales  the  Seller  takes  no  responsibility  for  arrival,  damage,  loss 
or  pilferage  en  route.  Seller's  failure  to  demand  the  Letter  of 
Credit  shall  not  be  cause  for  voiding  the  contract. 

F.  O.  B. — Free  on  Board,  is  the  Shipper's  invoice  cost  of  the 
silk  placed  on  board  ship  at  port  of  original  export;  Buyer  must 
provide  and  pay  for  marine  insurance  and  freight. 

C.  &  F.  Cost  and  Freight,  is  the  Shipper's  invoice  cost  includ-r 
ing  freight. 

C.  F.  &  I. — Cost,  Freight  and  Insurance,  is  the  Shipper's  invoice 
cost  including  freight  and  marine  insurance. 


RULES   AND    REGULATIONS 
To  Govern  Transactions  in  Throwing  Silk. 

Approved  by  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Silk  Association  of 
America  February  13,  1907,  and  amended  August  14,  1907. 

Article  I.  Winding — Raw-silk  is  single  thread  as  reeled  from  the 
cocoons  and  known  as  raw-silk  with  knotted  ends.  It  is  understood  to 
be  a  continuous  thread  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  skein  and  as  a  rule 
this  class  of  silk  must  be  such  that  one  winder  can  attend  to  one  hundred 
swifts  with  a  thread  speed  of  sixty  yards  per  minute. 

Article  II.  Soaking — Only  such  ingredients  shall  be  added  in  soaking 
the  silk  as  will  boil  out  easily  in  the  ordinary  process  of  dyeing,  and  only 
such  amounts  as  shall  be  necessary  for^the  proper  throwing  of  the  silk, 
but  not  to  exceed  5  per  cent,  gain  in  weight. 

Article  III.  Twist. — An  average  variation  of  10  per  cent,  on  organ- 
zine  (20  test  skeins)  either  way  from  the  twist  as  ordered  is  permissible. 
On  tram  two  and  one-half  to  three  turns  per  inch,  a  variation  of  one- 
half  turn  either  way  may  be  allowed. 

Article  IV.  Size — The  fineness  of  silk  is  determined  by  the  size.  The 
size  is  the  number  of  deniers  which  a  skein  of  a  certain  length  weighs. 
The  legal  denier  is  a  skein  of  silk  four  hundred  and  fifty  metres  long, 
wound  in  four  hundred  turns  on  a  reel  of  one  hundred  and  twelve  and 
one-half  centimetres  in  circumference  and  weighed  by  a  unit  of  five 
centigrams  (called  denier). 

To  establish  the  size  of  a  lot  of  silk,  ten  skeins  are  taken  from  every 
bale  and  from  different  parts  of  the  bale,  and  from  each  skein  two  test 
skeins  are  reeled  off,  on  Japan  silks,  one  inside  and  one  outside  skein. 
The  weight  of  these  test  skeins  is  to  be  reduced  to  conditioned  weight 


144  TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING 

in  case  either  of  the  parties  to  the  transaction  desires.  On  raw-silk  up 
to  twenty  deniers  a  margin  of  one-half  denier  average,  above  or  below, 
is  permissible;  coarser  sizes  are  treated  as  special  articles. 

The  regularity  (evenness)  of  the  thread  of  different  grades  shall  be 
such  that  the  difference  between  the  finest  and  the  coarsest  test  skeins 
shall  not  be  more  than  is  decided  by  the  rules  of  the  Silk  Association  of 
America. 

Article  V.  Reeling  into  Skeins — An  average  variation  of  5  per  cent, 
shall  be  allowed  from  the  number  of  yards  per  skein,  as  ordered  for 
thrown  silk.  The  minimum  number  of  test  skeins  is  twenty.  The  proce- 
dure is  similar  to  that  for  sizing  silk.  Conditioning  House  rules  to  apply. 

Article  VI.  Price,  Terms,  Etc. — The  price  for  throwing  is  net  cash, 
final  settlement  to  be  made  on  the  average  date  of  the  return  delivery* 
of  the  product.  The  throwster  is  entitled  to  payment  on  account  in  pro- 
portion to  his  deliveries,  and  on  completion  of  work  when  held  for  orders. 

Weights  for  throwing  silk  shall  be  estimated  upon  invoice  weights, 
in  no  case  less  than  conditioned  weight  plus  two  (2)  per  cent.,  or  upon 
conditioned  weight,  when  given,  plus  two  (2)  per  cent. 

Conditioned  weight,  as  here  used,  is  found  by  adding  eleven  (11)  per 
cent,  to  absolute  dry  weight,  determined  from  samples  by  customary 
methods. 

Article  VII.  Payment  of  Transportation,  Etc. — The  consignee  pays 
the  transportation  charges  on  receipt  of  the  raw-silk;  the  consignor  pays 
the  transportation  charges  on  the  return  of  the  thrown  silk. 

Article  VIII.  Liability  for  Silk — A  commission  throwster  who  ac- 
cepts a  lot  of  raw-silk  for  the  manufacture  of  tram  or  organzine  or  any 
other  operation,  is  responsible  to  the  owner  for  the  full  value  of  the  silk 
as  long  as  it  remains  in  his  possession.  The  throwster  must  cover  by 
insurance  the  loss  of  silk  against  fire  while  in  his  immediate  possession. 

Article  IX.  Determination  of  Loss — In  order  to  establish  a  claim 
against  a  throwster  for  excess  of  loss  in  working,  the  whole  parcel  of 
raw-silk  to  be  thrown  should  be  sent  to  the  Conditioning  House  to  be 
tested  for  the  conditioned  weight,  where  skeins  of  the  raw-silk  should 
be  retained.  The  entire  quantity  of  the  thrown  silk  should  be  returned 
to  the  Conditioning  House  to  be  reweighed  for  conditioned  weight.  The 
boil-off  tests  of  the  raw  skeins  so  retained  and  the  skeins  of  thrown  silk 
should  be  tested  simultaneously  in  the  same  process,  and  the  boil-Off 
established  in  this  manner  by  the  identical  process;  as  the  matter  of 
boiling-off  is  involved  in  much  uncertainty  if  done  at  different  times. 

Five  skeins  of  the  raw-silk  should  be  retained  from  each  bale,  and 
three  skeins  of  the  thrown  silk  from  each  one  hundred  pounds  for  the 
boiling-off  test. 

This  is  the  generally  accepted  practice  in  Europe  and  the  matter  of 
the  amount  of  loss  to  be  allowed  in  the  actual  working  of  a  given  silk 
(to  be  arrived  at  as  above  stated)  is  universally  a  matter  of  agreement 
between  the  manufacturer  and  the  throwster.  The  throwster  is  responsible 
at  the  price  agreed  upon  on  receipt  of  the  silk  for  an  excess  of  loss  above 
the  amount  agreed,  ?and  the  owner  is  to  pay  the  throwster  at  this  price 
when  any  less  loss  is  made  than  the  amount  as  agreed. 

The  manufacturer  is  to  furnish  a  description  of  the  raw-silk,  giving 
the  origin,  classification  and  grading,  and  is  responsible  to  the  throwster 
for  a  proper  delivery  of  the  raw-silk  as  agreed  upon.  Duplicate  tickets 
of  all  tests  to  be  supplied  to  the  throwster. 


TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING  145 

PRICES    CHARGED    FOR   TESTING    BY    THE    UNITED    STATES 
CONDITIONING  AND   TESTING   CO. 

New  York,  1912. 

CONDITIONING  raw  or  thrown  silk,  per  bale  $1.50 

BOILING-OFF  from  60  skeins  2.50 

from  10  skeins   1.00 

SIZING,  REGULAR,  10  skeins,  30  tests  of  450  metres  each 1.00 

CONDITIONED  SIZE,  in  addition  to  above 0.50 

SIZING,  COMPOUND,  from  20  skeins,  20  tests  of  4,500  metres  each 

conditioned  2.00 

WINDING,  10  skeins,  one  hour  1.00 

MEASURING: 

10  skeins,  20,000  yds 1.00 

15       "         15,000    "       1.00 

20       "        10,000    "       1.00 

(Dyed  silk,  one-half  the  above   number  of  skeins.) 

ELASTICITY  AND  TENACITY,  10  skeins,  10  tests   0.75 

TWIST,  10  skeins,  10  tests  0.75 

INSPECTION  TEST,  5  bales  or  less  5.00 

COMBINATION  TEST,  for  5  bales  (each  extra  bale,  $3.50) 17.50 

NET  WEIGHING  (with  detailed  tare)  0.75 

WEIGHING,  raw,  in  shirt   0.50 

Sampling  raw-silk  for  inspection  (10  cards)  per  bale 0.50 

Handling  charge  for  silk  withdrawn  without  testing,  package 0.25 

Reeling  charge  on  retained  boil-off  samples  withdrawn  without  test.'.  0.50 
Storage  on  bales  waiting  for  instructions  over  one  day,  and  over  three 

days  after  testing,  per  bale  and  per  day  0.05 

Extra  packing  charge  on   European  raw,   Tussah   raw,   Bengal  raw, 

and  other  loosely  packed  bales,  per  bale  1.00 

Additional  copies  of  certificates,  in  double  » 0.10 


Sizing  Tests  for  Silk. 

All  raw-silks,  particularly  those  not  reeled  with  the  greatest  care, 
such  as  is  the  case  with  much  of  the  Asiatic  product,  are  subject  to 
considerable  variations  in  size.  The  ordinary  sizing  tests,  such  as 
have  been  customarily  used,  show  very  well  the  degree  of  this  uneven- 
ness,  but  are  not  so  reliable  as  a  guide  to  the  length,  or  yardage  per 
pound,  of  the  silk. 

A  new  sizing  test,  in  which  continuous  long  lengths  of  the  silk  are 
reeled,  which  has  been  introduced  by  the  United  States  Conditioning 
and  Testing  Company,  of  New  York,  and  which  is  known  as  the  "Com- 
pound Sizing  Test,"  has  proved  of  great  value  in  showing,  with  a  very 
fair  degree  of  accuracy,  the  real  size  of  the  silk,  though  it  does  not  pre- 
tend to  show  the  extremes  of  variation  in  size,  as  is  done  by  the  old 
method. 

Both  sizing  methods  should,  therefore,  be  made  use  of. 

European  Conditioning  House  Certificates. 

European  silks  are  brought  into  this  market  on  a  conditioned  weight 
basis,  and  have  the  European  testing  house  documents  with  them.  It 


146  TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING 

is  customary  for  manufacturers  here  to  accept  these  papers  as  correct, 
without  further  testing.  This  is  not  to  say  that  it  would  not  be  desira- 
ble to  have  the  weights  again  checked  off  here. 

Conditioning  and  Boil-off  Tests. 

One  feature  of  conditioning,  of  the  utmost  importance,  is  that  it 
enables  a  manufacturer,  if  he  will  take  the  proper  steps,  to  learn  ex- 
actly how  much  waste  his  throwster  is  making,  and  how  much  soap,  oil, 
or  kindred  substances,  he  is  adding  to  the  silk. 

Silk,  in  what  has  been  determined  to  be  its  normal  condition,  con- 
tains of  moisture  1  1  per  cent,  more  than  its  absolute  dry  weight.  The 
conditioned  weight  arrived  at  by  the  Conditioning  House  is  the  dry 
weight  plus  this  n  per  cent.  Silk  also  contains  a  soluble  gum  —  seri- 
cin  —  which  is  usually  boiled  out  of  it  previous  to  dyeing. 

This  gum,  which,  by  the  way,  has  a  slightly  greater  affinity  for 
moisture  than  the  boiled-off  silk  itself,  varies  in  amount  in  different 
classes  of  silk  and  in  different  lots  of  the  same  class,  yellow  silks  hav- 
ing more  than  white  silks.  Thus,  yellow  Italian  or  Cevennes  silks  may 
lose,  on  the  average,  about  24%  in  boiling-off  ;  North  China  silks  about 
19%;  Cantons  about  22%;  white  Levantine  silks  about  22^2%;  and 
Japans  about  18%,  while  good  quality  Chefoo  tussahs  boil  off  about 


To  check  off  the  throwster's  waste,  careful  boil-off  tests  are  re- 
quired as  well  as  conditioning  tests. 

Waste  in  Throwing  and  its  Causes. 

Among  throwsters,  as  among  other  people,  there  are  the  good,  the 
indifferent,  and  the  bad.  The  badness  of  the  bad  may  be  due  to  inat- 
tention to  their  business,  to  carelessness,  to  ignorance,  and  often  to 
the  impossibility  of  getting  a  proper  supply  of  trained  help  in  the  places 
where  the  mills  are  located.  Some  people  also  talk  freely  of  the  dis- 
honesty of  throwsters,  and,  for  that  matter,  of  manufacturers  and  raw- 
silk  men,  and  sometimes  names  are  mentioned.  Most  people,  however, 
desire  to  be  honest,  and  most  people  are  or  try  to  be  ;  and  if  a  manu- 
facturer sends  his  silk  to  be  thrown  to  any  firm  of  decent  reputation, 
and  does  not  expect  a  price  that  will  show  a  loss  to  the  throwster,  he 
has  little  to  fear  from  intentional  dishonesty. 

The  waste  question  in  throwing  is  a  vexed  one.  A  frame  or  two 
with  good  help,  and  on  first-class  silk,  and  run  under  the  eye  of  the 
management,  can  be  operated  with  wonderfully  little  waste.  It  would 
not  be  fair  to  expect  such  results  from  a  whole  floor.  Good  silk  will 
make  less  than  poor;  good  help  less  than  inexperienced  help;  good 
management  and  machinery  less  than  bad.  No  throwster  desires  to 
make  undue  waste  in  running  his  customers'  silk,  even  if,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  trade,  he  does  keep  and  sell  such  waste  as  a  by- 
product ;  yet  all  throwsters  make  at  times  more  waste  than  they  desire. 
It  may  not  be  right,  but  they  cannot  help  themselves. 


TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING  147 

Help  may  be  scarce  in  their  vicinity,  and  when  help  is  scarce  it  is 
usually  careless,  indifferent,  and  independent,  and  if  a  girl  were  sharply 
taken  to  task  on  the  waste  question,  she  would  promptly  leave  and  get 
a  job  inside  of  an  hour  somewhere  else,  and  then  the  spindles  would 
stand  until  some  one  else  could  be  found  and  broken  in  for  the  work. 
Thus,  gross  waste  would  go  on  as  the  least  of  two  evils.  As,  however, 
the  throwster  originally  located  where  he  did  to  get  cheap  help,  which 
was  then  plentiful,  and  has  profited  by  it  in  the  past,  it  hardly  seems 
fair  that  his  customer  should  be  mulcted  in  the  waste  made  later  on 
when  conditions  had  changed. 

Again,  a  high-class  throwster,  with  several  mills,  starts  a  new  mill 
where  all  the  workers  are  inexperienced.  It  goes  without  saying  that, 
during  the  period  when  they  are  being  educated,  they  will  make  poor 
work  and  lots  of  waste.  A  certain  silk  that  might  be  thrown  with  a 
waste  of  2%  at  one  of  the  old  mills,  might  suffer  6%  in  waste  in  the 
new  mill.  If  the  customer  was  allowed  to  become  aware  of  this,  would 
he  tolerate  it  ?  On  your  life,  he  would  not. 

Ignorance  and  indifference  of  foremen,  poor  and  cheap  machinery 
or  good  machinery  neglected,  poor  bobbins  and  poor  methods  will  all 
assist  in  filling  the  waste  bags.  Whether  it  be  his  fault  or  his  misfor- 
tune, no  throwster  desires  to  let  his  customer  into  these  little  secrets. 
It  would  be  too  embarrassing. 

Mistaken  Viewpoint  of  Manufacturers. 

The  manufacturer,  too,  is  often  expecting  the  impossible.  Every 
manufacturer  tries  to  impress  his  throwster  with  the  idea  that  he  buys 
none  but  the  very  highest  grades  of  silk,  when  often  quite  the  reverse  is 
the  case.  He  may  thus  send  some  No.  I  Japan  filatures  to  be  thrown 
into  organzine,  and  then  profess  great  surprise  at  the  poor  report  he 
gets  on  the  working  of  the  silk ;  he  says  he  really  cannot  understand  it ; 
and  then  he  complains  because  it  turns  out  poor  organzine;  but  he 
would  complain  more  if  he  knew  how  much  waste  it  had  made.  Mean- 
time, the  cost  of  throwing  to  the  throwster  may  be  10  to  20%  more 
than  if  the  lot  had  been  proper  organzine  stock. 

Illogical  Basis  for  Throwsters'  Charges. 

The  custom  of  throwing  different  grades  of  silk  at  the  same  price, 
only  making  differences  in  price  for  different  sizes,  is  wrong.  If  lower 
prices  were  made  on  high  grades,  and  higher  prices  on  low  grades,  it 
would  be  fair  to  the  throwster  and  an  encouragement  to  the  manu- 
facturer to  buy  the  better  qualities.  This  illogicality  is  recognized,  but 
silks  fluctuate  so  much  in  quality  from  season  to  season  that  classifying 
them  into  exact  grades  is  difficult. 

Manufacturers'  Inconsistent  Demands. 

Some  manufacturers,  again,  object  strenuously  if  they  do  not  get 
back  just  as  much  weight  of  thrown  silk  as  they  sent  out  in  the  raw, 


148  TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING 

or  more.  In  fact,  if  a  silk  was  run  without  any  soaking  whatever, 
and  if  the  waste  was  held  down  to  1^2%,  so  that  the  customer  got  back 
985  pounds  out  of  1,000,  he  would  very  likely  come  down  upon  the 
throwster  with  a  claim  for  the  other  15  pounds,  and  would  feel  himself 
very  badly  used  at  not  getting  it. 

The  Soaking  Bath,  and  What  it  Covers  Up. 

When  silk  is  soaked  in  a  bath  containing  such  reasonable  amount 
of  soap  and  oil  in  the  water  as  is  required  for  softening  the  gums  and 
assisting  the  working  of  the  silk,  it  may  have  added  to  its  weight  in 
this  way,  say,  2  or  3%.  In  the  throwing  of  such  silk,  if  of  fair  quality, 
the  waste  made  may  run  up  to  2  or  3%.  Thus,  in  practice,  the  one  off- 
sets the  other,  and  the  weight  of  the  thrown  silk  would  be  not  far  from 
the  weight  of  the  raw-silk,  and  this  is  what  is  looked  for. 

When  excessive  waste  has  been  made,  or  if  some  of  the  silk  has 
been  lost,  damaged  or  stolen,  a  shortage  would  be  apparent,  and  the 
easiest  way  to  avoid  any  controversy  is  to  add  to  the  soaking  bath  such 
quantity  of  soap,  oil,  or  other  substance  as  will  bring  the  weight  up  to 
the  normal.  This  is  customarily  done.  The  customer  is  not  getting 
back  as  much  silk  as  he  should,  and  he  does  not  know  it ;  and  the  only 
way  he  can  know  it  is  by  the  assistance  of  the  Conditioning  House. 

How  the  Throwing  Waste  is  Determined. 

To  determine  the  exact  amount  of  waste  made  by  the  throwster,  it 
is  necessary  to  ascertain  four  facts:  the  conditioned  weight  of  the 
raw-silk ;  the  conditioned  weight  of  the  thrown  silk ;  the  percentage  of 
boil-off  of  the  raw-silk;  and  the  percentage  of  boil-off  of  the  thrown 
silk. 

All  of  the  silk,  therefore,  both  before  and  after  throwing,  should  be 
tested  at  the  Conditioning  House  for  weight  and  for  boil-off. 

After  the  raw-silk  has  been  tested  for  weight,  the  Conditioning 
House  reserves  certain  skeins  for  boil-off,  and  then  ships  the  lot  to  the 
throwster. 

When  the  silk  has  been  thrown,  it  is  sent  back  to  the  Conditioning 
House,  where  the  weight  is  again  tested,  and  then  samples  from  skeins 
of  the  thrown  silk,  and  also  from  the  reserved  skeins  of  the  raw-silk, 
are  boiled-off  together,  and  the  boil-off  of  each  is  ascertained.  If  the 
boil-offs  are  not  made  together,  inaccuracies  may  result. 

The  boil-off  report  on  the  raw-silk  will  shew  the  percentage  of  gum 
that  it  contains,  and  the  test  on  the  thrown  silk  will  show,  in  addition, 
the  loss  due  to  soap  and  oil  added  by  the  throwster. 

Insoluble  Substances  in  Soaking  Baths. 

Some  unscrupulous  throwsters,  to  conceal  excessive  waste  which 
they  may  have  made,  will  introduce  into  the  soaking  bath  certain  sub- 
stances for  the  silk  to  take  up  which  will  not  boil  out  in  the  testing. 


TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING  149 

This  is  contrary  to  the  rules  of  the  Silk  Throwsters'  Association,  and 
is  a  most  reprehensible  practice,  and  one  which  should  be  punishable 
legally. 

Rule  for  Figuring  the  Throwing  Waste. 

The  following  Rule  will  show  the  proper  method  of  figuring  the 
throwing  waste: 

From  the  conditioned  weight  of  the  raw-silk  deduct  the  percentage 
of  the  boil-off  in  the  raw,  and  the  remainder  will  be  the  conditioned 
weight,  boiled-off}  raw-silk,  (pure  fibre). 

From  the  conditioned  ^veight  of  the  thrown  silk,  deduct  the  per- 
centage of  the  boil-off  of  the  thrown  silk,  and  the  remainder  will  be 
the  conditioned  weight,  boiled-off,  thrown  silk,  (pure  fibre). 

From  the  conditioned  weight,  boiled-off,  raw-silk,  deduct  the  con- 
ditioned weight,  boiled-off,  thrown  silk,  and  the  remainder  will  be  the 
amount  of  the  conditioned  weight,  boiled-off,  waste  made,  (pure  fibre). 

The  relation  that  the  weight  of  this  waste  bears  to  the  weight  of  the 
conditioned  weight,  boiled-off,  raw-silk,  will  be  the  percentage  of  loss 
made  in  the  throwing. 

Regarding  Claims  Against  Throwsters. 

Properly  substantiated  data  on  the  above  lines  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  maintain  a  claim  for  excessive  waste  against  a  throwster,  and 
failure  to  supply  such  evidence  would  compel  an  arbitration  committee 
to  decide  against  a  manufacturer.  Most  arbitrations,  where  manu- 
facturers claim  damages  from  dyer,  finisher,  throwster,  or  raw-silk 
merchant,  are  almost  uniformly  decided  against  the  manufacturer,  and 
the  fault  is  nearly  always  his;  whatever  the  merits  of  his  contention, 
he  does  not  produce  the  proper  evidence. 

Interesting  Determinations  Yet  to  be  Made. 

There  are  many  interesting  questions  in  conditioning  that  are  not 
yet  determined,  and  which,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  the  testing  houses  will 
some  day  arrive  at.  One  of  them  is  the  different  degree  of  receptive- 
ness  to  moisture  of  silk  in  its  different  states.  It  is  agreed  to  add  1 1  % 
for  raw-silk.  As,  however,  the  gum  seems  to  have  the  superior  ab- 
sorbing power,  a  silk  with  heavy  gum  should  normally  have  more 
moisture  than  a  silk  with  light  gum.  Then,  there  is  thrown  silk,  car- 
rying soap  and  oil ;  silk  in  its  boiled-off  state ;  when  pure  dyed ;  when 
weighted  (and  with  different  weighting  agents)  ;  when  weighted  and 
dyed ;  also  when  dyed  in  souples ;  all  of  these  may  have,  and  probably 
do  have,  different  hygroscopic  qualities.  The  amount  of  twist,  also,  in 
a  thread  will  probably  affect  its  absorbing  power. 

Again,  there  is  the  action  of  moisture  on  cloth.  We  all  know  how 
much  better  a  piece  of  red  silk  feels  than  a  piece  of  gray  or  beige.  The 
manner  in  which  the  dye-stuff  feeds  the  fabric  will,  of  course,  account 
for  some  of  this  difference,  but  how  much  is  due  to  the  superior  moist- 


150  TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING 

ure  absorbing  power  of  the  red,  or  of  the  mordant  used  in  dyeing  it? 

It  would  be  interesting  if  the  Conditioning  House  would  secure 
from  some  manufacturer,  say,  twenty  one-yard  lengths  of  representa- 
tive shades  of  some  standard  fabric,  and  test  them  for  the  benefit  of 
the  trade  to  see  if  such  an  influence  affected  any  of  the  colors  ma- 
terially. 

In  conclusion,  I  might  say  that  a  good  maxim  for  all  silk  manu- 
facturers would  be  "Cultivate  the  Conditioning  House  habit." 


Important  Points  to  Bear  in  Mind. 

I  will  close  this  with  a  few  extracts  from  "The  Value  of  Condi- 
tioning," published  by  the  United  States  Conditioning  and  Testing  Co., 
a  book  of  which  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  a  very  substantial  part  was 
written  by  myself. 

"The  real  value  of  all  silk  is,  and  must  be,  based  on  the  Conditioned 
Weight,  Boiled-Off,  Thrown  Silk.  This  is  what  you  get,  though  few  will 
compare  costs  to  ascertain  this  only  Real  Value." 

VARIATION    IN    TESTS. 

"As  the  whole  principle  of  conditioning  is  based  on  removing  small 
samples  from  a  large  amount  of  silk,  and  putting  these  samples  through 
various  tests,  a  slight  variation  will  occur,  as  the  samples  cannot  be 
assumed  to  exactly  represent  the  whole  lot  to  be  tested." 

"These  variations  in  any  case  will  be  slight.  Difference  in  condi- 
tioned weights  should  not  exceed  %  of  1%,  in  boil-off  tests  24  of  1%,  and 
in  sizing  tests  variation  will  be  greater  as  the  quality  becomes  lower." 

"Elasticity  and  tenacity  (strength)  are  greatly  affected  by  variations 
in  moisture,  nature,  size,  etc." 

"In  making  twisting  tests,  a  variation  may  be  shewn  in  places  where 
spindles  have  been  started  up,  or  have  slipped,  or  when  there  is  greater 
stretching  due  to  tension." 

"In  measuring  skeins  the  variation  of  the  tension  or  stretch,  etc., 
may  make  a  difference  of  perhaps  1%." 

"In  rainy  weather,  the  same  silk  will  automatically  increase  in  weight 
as  much  as  THREE  per  cent,  over  its  weight  in  ordinary  dry  weather. 
Because  of  its  power  to  absorb  moisture  its  weight  CAN  be  still  further 
increased,  through  artificial  means,  as  much  as  thirty  (30)  per  cent." 

"To  buy  silk  without  having  it  sized  at  the  Conditioning  House  means 
a  variation  of  perhaps  five  per  cent,  or  more  in  the  cost  of  your  mer-: 
chandise,  due  to  heavier  or  lighter  goods,  the  requiring  of  more  or  less 
picks,  etc." 

ELASTICITY  AND  TENACITY 

"The  following  table  gives  approximately,  for  general  guidance,  the 
Elasticity  and  Tenacity  to  be  reasonably  expected  for  the  different  grades 
of  silk. 

Elasticity. 

25%  average  stretch  is  a very  good  result 

20%  average  stretch  is  a , good  result 

18%  to  20%  average   stretch  is  a fair  result 

Under  18%  average  stretch  is  a poor  result 


TESTING    OR    CONDITIONING  151 

Tenacity  (Breaking  Strength). 
The  average  size  in  deniers  multiplied 

by  4  is   a very  good  result 

by  3^2  is  a good  result 

by  3  is  a » fair  result 

Under  3  is  a poor  result 

One  metre  (39.37  inches)  is  tested:  Elasticity  in  millimetres  and  Tenac- 
ity in  grams." 

"Don't  believe  in  any  testing,  unless  made  by  persons  properly  trained, 
and  with  accurate  instruments." 

THE   VALUE    OF    CONDITIONING. 

FOR  WEIGHT.  You  know  exactly  how  many  pounds  you  should  pay 
for. 

FOR  VARIATION  IN  SIZE  AND  FOR  AVERAGE  SIZE.  You  are 
shewn  the  regularity  of  the  silk  and  the  average  yardage  per  pound. 

FOR  ELASTICITY  AND  TENACITY.  Enables  you  to  select  the  right 
lots  for  different  fabrics,  thus  helping  production.  Even  the  best  silks, 
and  of  the  same  mark,  vary  widely. 

INSPECTION  TEST.    Is  a  guide  in  examining  quality  before  acceptance. 

BOIL-OFF  TEST.  Shews  returns  and  clearances  from  the  throwing. 
Shews  the  proper  amount  of  weighting  to  order  from  dyer. 

FOR  TWIST.    Shewing  if  your  silk  has  been  twisted  as  ordered. 

MEASURING  TEST.     Tells  if  your  skeins  are  of  proper  length. 

COMBINATION  TEST.  Automatically  keeps  you  posted  in  several  im- 
portant directions." 


XIV 

THE  COSTING  OF  BROAD  SILKS  AND  RIBBONS. 


There  is  no  point  more  important  for  the  manufacturer  to  know 
about  than  the  cost  of  his  goods,  and  on  no  question  does  he  feel  more 
uncertainty.  In  fact,  it  is  only  after  the  annual  balance  sheet  has  been 
made  that  he  can  arrive  at  fairly  exact  conclusions. 

Difficulties  in  the  Way. 

The  reasons  for  this  are  various,  one  of  the  principal  ones  being 
that  the  question  of  the  volume  of  the  product  of  a  mill  is  closely  inter- 
woven with  the  cost  of  that  product,  and  no  one  can  tell  in  advance, 
for  reasons  that  will  be  stated  hereafter,  how  much  the  output  will  fall 
short  of  the  normal ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a  maximum  limit  on  the 
product  is  set  by  the  number  of  looms  operated,  and  the  speeds  at 
which  they  can  be  run. 

Again,  some  lines  of  goods,  such  as  novelties,  are  sure  to  involve 
heavy  losses  in  case  of  cancellations  of  orders;  and  usually,  in  such 
cases,  more  or  less  cancellations  for  late  delivery,  or  defective  work- 
manship, or  because  the  buyer  concludes  he  does  not  want  them,  are 
inevitable.  Who  can  say  what  should  be  figured  against  on  this  score  ? 

The  fluctuations  of  the  raw  material  market,  the  varying  expenses 
of  the  mill,  the  percentage  of  seconds  produced,  the  amount  of  waste 
made,  the  changes  in  the  cost  of  labor,  or  of  dyeing,  or  throwing,  and 
many  other  causes,  all  of  which  affect  the  costs  of  the  goods  in  proc- 
ess, and  none  of  which  can  be  determined  in  advance,  are  also  reasons 
why  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  the  exact  cost  of  any  fabric  will  be. 

Among  all  the  mills  in  the  trade,  it  would  probably  be  hard  to  find 
two  which  costed  their  goods  in  exactly  the  same  way.  The  personal 
views  taken  by  managers  as  to  the  best  method  to  be  pursued  vary 
widely,  and  the  character  of  the  goods  made,  the  limitations  of  the 


COSTING    OF   BROAD   SILKS   AND    RIBBONS       153 

plant,  and  the  way  .in  which  the  business  is  done,  will  all  have  their 
influence. 

Under co sting  by  Mill  Managers. 

A  factor  not  to  be  overlooked  is  the  desire  of  the  average  mill  man  to 
figure  a  cost  low  enough  to  show  his  employers  a  profit  at  the  market 
price  of  the  fabric,  and  fortunes  may  be  lost  in  this  way  if  his  employ- 
ers lack  the  knowledge  necessary  to  check  off  his  figures.  See  how  easy 
it  is  for  the  following  to  happen : 

A  firm,  whether  a  new  concern  or  one  turning  onto  new  lines  of 
goods,  engages  a  superintendent  and  sends  him  out  to  their  mills.  The-y 
then  send  him  samples  of  various  fabrics  which  are  either  on  the  mar- 
ket, or  which,  if  brought  out,  would  command  a  given  price.  The 
superintendent — allowing  that  he  be  a  man  of  experience  and  knowl- 
edge— calculates  them  properly  and  reports  back  costs  that  would  show 
a  loss  at  the  market  prices.  More  samples,  and  yet  again  more,  are 
sent  him,  and  still  no  profit  can  be  figured.  His  employers  are  unable 
to  believe  that  their  mills,  as  to  equipment  or  in  other  respects,  are 
inferior  to  those  of  their  competitors,  or  they  may  actually  know  that 
they  are  better  than  most  of  them,  and  they  cannot  understand  why 
there  should  be  a  loss  on  fabrics  made  at  their  mills  at  prices  that  other 
houses  are  eager  to  book  business  at.  Being  usually  salesmen,  and  not 
manufacturers,  it  is  impossible  to  make  them  believe  in  the  reality  of 
this  every-day  condition,  and  of  course  the  mill  management  is  blamed 
for  lack  of  knowledge  of  how  to  make  goods  as  well,  and  as  cheaply, 
as  their  competitors. 

At  this  stage  of  the  game,  the  new  superintendent  is  likely  to  be 
told  that  when  they  hired  him  they  thought  he  knew  his  business ;  that 
if  he  did,  he  would  be  able  to  make  goods  as  cheaply  as  the  other  fellow ; 
and  that,  as  he  figures  nothing  but  a  loss  on  everything  submitted  to 
him,  they  will  dispense  with  his  services  and  look  for  some  one  who 
knows  how  to  make  a  profit. 

Under  prevailing  conditions,  the  fear  of  such  an  outcome  is  ever 
present  with  the  new  man,  and,  after  reporting  too  high  a  cost  on  a  few 
fabrics,  he  feels  that  he  must  do  something.  He  therefore  tries  hard 
to  squeeze  out  a  profit  by  figuring  that  a  lower  grade  of  silk  than  usual 
will  do  the  work ;  that  he  will  get  a  larger  product  than  he  ordinarily 
figures,  even  if  it  be  necessary  to  speed  his  looms  beyond  the  limits  of 
good  practice ;  that  he  will  save  a  little  on  this  and  on  that,  and  finally 
he  gets  the  cost  where  he  wants  it.  That  is,  he  hopes  that  his  cost  will 
be  5  or  10  per  cent,  less  than  his  experience  would  justify. 

Some  other  and  bolder  spirit  may  adopt  the  much  simpler  process 
of  deliberately  undercosting  the  goods  to  the  extent  desired,  knowing 
well  that  his  principals  will  not  know  tfie  difference,  and  hoping  that 
other  and  profitable  work  may  come  to  the  mill  that  will  cover  up  the 
losses.  Even  if  the  losses  would  show  up  at  the  end  of  the  year,  a 


154       COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND    RIBBONS 

judicious  overcosting  of  the  stock  at  the  mill  would  conceal  them,  and 
if  a  rising  raw-silk  market  helped  the  process,  and  the  mill  was  large 
enough,  it  might  be  two  or  three  years,  even  if  running  largely  on 
undercosted  fabrics,  before  his  employers  (using  such  mill  account- 
ings as  are  commonly  to  be  found  in  use),  would  be  aware  of  what  a 
hole  there  was  in  their  assets.  They  would  have  lost  a  lot  of  money 
if  they  had  done  a  large  business  on  the  goods,  and  a  large  business  is 
likely  to  be  done  on  undercosted  goods,  and  if  the  superintendent  was 
in  their  employ  at  the  time  of  the  expose,  he  would  lose  his  position. 
If  able  to  do  so,  however,  he  would  have  probably  secured  a  position 
with  some  other  firm  before  he  came  to  the  end  of  his  rope,  the  big  busi- 
ness he  was  doing  for  the  first  firm  being  a  help  to  him  in  securing 
the  second  post,  and  the  same  tactics  would  be  repeated  with  them  if 
necessity  demanded. 

Necessity  for  Principals  to  Know  How  to  Cost  Their  Goods. 

It  is  therefore  of  the  first  importance  that  some  member  of  every 
firm,  whose  pocket  is  affected  by  the  loss  or  profit  at  a  mill,  should 
have,  or  should  acquire  sufficient  knowledge  to  enable  him  to  ascertain 
the  approximate  correctness  of  all  cost  sheets. 

The  desirability  of  having  all  manufacturers  able  to  cost  their 
goods  properly  is  apparent  when  it  is  considered  how  seriously  a  whole 
trade  can  be  hurt  by  a  few  mills  offering  goods  at  less  than  their  real 
cost,  and  no  competition  is  worse  than  that  of  some  large,  solvent,  and 
respectable  concern  that  is  offering  its  goods  on  that  basis  without 
knowing  it.  Such  concerns  may  make  a  profit  in  other  directions  which 
keeps  them  solvent,  or  they  may  finally  fail,  and  when  they  do  so  it 
seems  as  if  there  were  a  dozen  more  to  take  their  place,  and  meantime 
the  damage  to  the  trade  has  been  large.  Be  this  as  it  may,  there  is  not 
a  season  passes  without  many  lines  of  goods  appearing  on  the  market 
which  the  best-equipped  and  best-managed  mills  in  America  could  not 
make  at  the  price  and  get  out  whole. 

Desirability  of  Standard  Cost  Sheets. 

It  would  seem  to  be  desirable  if,  for  the  various  classes  of  silk  fab- 
rics, some  standard  forms,  to  be  followed  in  the  making  up  of  costs, 
could  be  worked  out  by  the  united  efforts  of  representative  firms  or 
associations,  and  thus  new  and  inexperienced  -firms  would  have  the 
benefit  of  such  guidance.  There  would,  of  course,  be  nothing  altruistic 
about  such  a  policy,  as  it  would  have  for  its  sole  object  the  prevention 
of  injury  to  the  trade  by  the  ignorance  of  firms  under  costing  their 
goods. 

In  any  event,  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  carefully  printed  form  for 
filling  in,  covering  all  the  items  of  cost,  so  that  none  can  be  overlooked. 

The  Ribbon  Manufacturers'  Cost  Sheet. 
NOTE.— This  article,  with  the  foregoing  suggestions,  was  originally 


COSTING    OF   BROAD   SILKS   AND    RIBBONS        155 

published  in  "Silk,"  in  January,  1908,  and  the  writer  has  since  urged,  in 
many  ways,  the  necessity  of  a  standard  cost  sheet. 

The  value  of  these  recommendations  has  at  last  been  recognized,  for, 
in  the  autumn  of  1912,  the  Silk  Ribbon  Division  of  the  Silk  Association 
of  America  found  it  advisable  to  adopt  this  exact  policy  which  had  been 
thus  outlined  nearly  five  years  before. 

As  a  result,  a  well  considered  form  of  cost  sheet  (in  the  preparation 
of  which  the  writer  lent  his  assistance),  was  adopted,  and  the  use  of  the 
same  was  recommended  to  the  trade. 

The  necessity  of  this  was  made  clear  by  the  fact  that  large  numbers 
of  the  ribbon  manufacturers  were  hopelessly  ignorant  of  how  their  goods 
should  be  costed.  This  was  demonstrated  by  the  furnishing  to  a  consid- 
erable number  of  them  certain  samples  for  calculation,  all  of  the  details 
for  making  the  costs  being  stated,  with  the  result  that  figures  were  handed 
in  running  from  30%  below  cost,  by  slow  gradations,  up  to  32%  above 
cost. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  the  broad  silk  interests  should  move  in  the 
matter  also. 

What  May  Happen  if  No  Form  be  Used. 

A  failure  to  use  a  printed  form  may  have  a  result  such  as  in  a  case 
that  I  heard  of,  where  a  velvet-cap  manufacturer  was  selling  his  goods 
so  cheap  that  a  brother  manufacturer  expostulated  with  him.  He 
claimed,  however,  to  be  making  a  good  profit,  and  volunteered  to  show 
his  cost  sheet,  which,  when  produced,  was  found  to  have  every  item  of 
cost  carefully  set  down — except  the  velvet  of  which  the  caps  were  made. 

The  Main  Elements  of  Cost. 

The  main  elements  of  cost  in  a  fabric  are  the  raw  materials  and 
their  preparation — throwing,  dyeing,  etc. ;  the  labor  directly  applied  to 
the  goods,  such  as  weaving,  warping,  twisting,  picking,  etc. ;  the  finish- 
ing, or  piece  dyeing ;  and  the  general  expense,  which  item  should  cover 
interest  on  capital  and  all  other  interest,  depreciation,  all  labor  not  di- 
rectly applied  to  the  goods,  rentals,  power,  mill  expenses  and  supplies 
of  every  kind,  salaries  of  partners,  officers  and  clerks,  and  every  other 
expense  entailed  upon  the  business  and  not  specifically  provided  for  on 
the  cost  sheet. 

Expenses  that  are  Well  Denned. 

Certain  parts  of  the  cost  are  quite  accurately  known.  Thus  the 
throwster  makes  a  specific  charge  for  his  work  (though  you  may  be 
unaware  of  how  much  waste  he  makes),  and  so  does  the  dyer,  and  like- 
wise the  finisher.  If  these  processes,  or  any  of  them,  are  done  in  the  mill, 
the  cost  sheet  should  be  charged  with  exactly  the  same  price  that  would 
be  paid  for  them  if  done  outside,  any  profit  made  on  the  process  going 
to  the  credit  of  the  account  of  that  department. 

The  prices  to  be  paid  for  the  warping,  beaming,  twisting  or  draw- 
ing in,  winding,  doubling,  quilling,  and  picking,  are  either  fixed  by  the 
mill  price  lists  or,  if  there  is  anything  special  about  them,  they  can  be 
figured  out  with  fair  accuracy. 


156       COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND   RIBBONS 

Estimating  the  Price  for  Weaving. 

Estimating  the  price  to  be  paid  for  weaving  demands  careful 
thought,  however,  as  it  is  largely  dependent  upon  the  product 
that  can  be  got  out.  This  will  depend  upon  the  quality  and  size  of  the 
silk  that  is  to  be  used,  and  the  care  with  which  it  is  thrown,  dyed,  and 
warped;  the  density  of  the  warp  and  how  it  is  reeded;  the  character 
and  weave  of  the  cloth;  the  width  of  the  fabric  and  picks  per  inch; 
the  character  and  condition  of  the  looms  and  their  speed,  or  the  speed 
at  which  they  may  be  run  for  the  goods  under  consideration ;  the  or- 
ganization of  the  mill,  on  which  depends  the  having  warps  ready  to 
follow  on  with,  and  the  prompt  putting  of  the  same  in  the  looms  and 
starting  them  up  to  follow  those  that  are  run  out ;  the  length  of  the 
warps ;  the  continuity  of  work,  which  depends  on  the  success  of  the  sell- 
ing force ;  the  policy  of  the  mill  in  regard  to  quality  of  work,  as  where 
certain  imperfections  will  not  pass  muster  at  the  examining  table  and 
so,  if  they  occur  in  the  weaving,  the  weaver  must  stop  his  loom  and 
pick  out  his  filling  back  to  the  imperfection;  and  lastly,  the  average 
ability  and  experience  of  the  weavers  themselves. 

It  is  generally  desirable  to  fix  a  rate  at  which  a  weaver  can  earn  fair 
wages.  Any  man  who  cannot  earn  such  wages  should  be  let  go,  for, 
even  if  he  were  willing  to  work  along  at  a  pittance,  the  mill  would  be 
suffering  on  account  of  his  looms  not  turning  out  their  proper  quota 
of  goods. 

If,  bearing  all  the  foregoing  conditions  in  mind,  a  proper  rate  should 
have  been  fixed,  it  will  be  found  that  after  the  goods  are  well  started 
on  the  looms  the  majority  of  the  weavers  will  be  making  their  average 
rate  of  pay,  and  all  will  be  well.  If,  however,  the  product  has  been 
overestimated,  the  rate  fixed  will  be  found  to  be  too  low,  and  in  a  few 
days  the  weavers  will  demand  a  higher  rate  to  bring  them  out  where 
they  should  be.  This  will  mean  an  increase  of  cost,  both  for  weaving 
and  for  general  expense  (on  account  of  reduced  output),  and  that,  too, 
after  the  line  of  goods  is  on  the  market  and  its  price  fixed. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  product  is  extra  large,  it  is,  in  practice, 
very  difficult  to  cut  down,  during  the  season,  the  rate  of  pay  on  an 
article  once  established,  unless  it  is  going  to  be  run  continuously,  and 
so  the  mill  suffers  by  paying  out  more  for  weaving  than  should  have 
been  necessary. 

Three  of  the  main  elements  of  cost  are  not  fixed  quantities.  I  refer 
to  the  amount  of  silk  that  enters  into  the  fabric,  the  cost  of  that  silk, 
and  the  proper  charge  for  the  general  expense. 

Variation  in  Size  of  Silk  from  Take-up  in  Twist. 

No  matter  what  care  is  used  in  the  selection  and  preparation  of  silk, 

it  will  vary  considerably  in  size.    Also,  in  the  throwing  of  the  silk  there 

is  a  take-up  in  twist,  on  which  subject  much  misconception  exists.  The 

writer  has  heard  many  different  opinions  expressed  on  this  matter  by 


COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND    RIBBONS        157 

supposedly  competent  men,  in  some  cases  this  take-up  being  estimated 
as  high  as  7  per  cent,  for  organzine,  and  in  other  cases  belief  was  ex- 
pressed that  there  was  no  loss  in  length  at  all,  as  their  practice  was 
not  to  dry  out  the  silk  after  soaking,  but  to  wind  it  while  damp,  and, 
being  in  that  state  easily  stretched,  it  gained  as  much  in  stretch,  while 
going  through  the  various  processes,  as  the  take-up  in  twist  would 
amount  to,  though  at  the  expense  of  the  elasticity  of  the  silk. 

The  percentage  of  these  take-ups  will  vary  with  the  number  of  turns 
of  twist,  the  number  of  threads,  the  size  of  the  silk,  and  the  tension 
under  which  it  is  worked,  etc. 

After  ordinary  twists  are  exceeded,  the  shortening  increases  rap- 
idly, and,  for  the  same  twist,  the  take-up  is  greater  in  coarse  sizes  than 
in  finer  ones. 

The  reverse,  or  second-time,  twisting  in  organzine,  or  in  any  yarns 
of  two  or  more  ply,  untwists  the  turns  put  into  the  single  thread  in  the 
first-time  twisting. 

Taking  13/15  denier  silk  as  a  basis,  and  allowing  that  it  be 
thrown  into  2-thread  organzine,  with  16/12  to  16/14  turns  per  inch, 
wound  dry,  and  put  through  all  processes  under  normal  tension,  the 
best  opinions  agree  upon  a  take-up  of  from  3  to  4  per  cent.  This  is  in 
line  with  the  writer's  own  determinations,  the  average  of  many  careful 
tests  made  on  2-thread  organzine,  thrown  from  13/15  denier  silk,  with 
1 6/1 2  turns  per  inch,  being  3.60  per  cent. 

Many  manufacturers  believe  that  the  take-up  in  twist  of  tram  is 
negligible,  but  this  is  by  no  means  so. 

For  certain  twists  and  sizes  (not  including  hard  twists),  it  may  run 
up  to  2  per  cent.,  or  again  it  may  be  as  low  as  y2  per  cent. 

Under  ordinary  conditions  it  might  therefore  be  well  to  calculate 
on  a  take-up  of  3^  per  cent,  for  orgenzine  and  I  per  cent,  for  tram. 

A  European  method,  sometimes  followed  in  this  country,  is  to  al- 
low 3  per  cent,  on  both  warp  and  filling,  but  throwing  is  conducted 
under  somewhat  different  conditions  over  there. 

When  figuring  the  dramage  of  the  thrown  silk  from  the  size  of  the 
raw,  this  increase  in  thickness,  due  to  the  twist,  should  always  be  al- 
lowed for. 

Modifying  Construction  to   Compensate  for  Difference  in  Size. 

The  number  of  ends  that  should  go  into  the  warp,  and  the  way  they 
should  be  reeded,  having  been  carefully  thought  out,  it  would  not  be 
convenient  or  desirable  to  change  this  to  suit  any  ordinary  variations 
in  the  size  of  the  silk. 

Still,  if  the  warp  is  heavier  than  usual,  the  attempt  may  be  made 
to  balance  it  by  reducing  the  number  of  picks,  or  by  using  a  little  finer 
filling  than  usual,  and  the  reverse  of  this  if  the  warp  is  on  the  fine  side. 
It  may  well  happen,  and  frequently  does,  that  both  warp  and  filling 
run  heavy  at  the  same  time,  and  then  the  goods  are  almost  sure  to  get 


158       COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND    RIBBONS 

more  material  in  them  than  calculated,  and,  if  they  are  both  fine,  so 
many  extra  picks  will  be  required  to  bring  up  the  weight  that  more 
weaving  wages  may  have  to  be  paid.  Also,  in  case  of  warp  and  filling 
not  balancing,  a  remnant  of  one  or  the  other  will  remain  at  the  end 
of  the  work,  which  will  have  to  be  used  up,  or  sold,  at  a  loss. 

The  Take-up  in  Weaving. 

The  loom  take-up,  or  amount  that  the  warp  shortens  in*  weaving, 
must  always  be  allowed  for.  It  varies  with  different  weaves  and  the 
calculation  has  to  be  modified  to  suit.  The  limits  for  ordinary  fabrics 
will  mostly  be  between  the  extremes  of  6  per  cent,  for  a  satin  duchesse, 
and  10  per  cent,  for  a  closely  woven  taffeta. 

If  100  yards  of  cloth  are  woven  on  the  loom  at  the  normal  tension, 
this  amount,  when  rolled  off  loosely  and  handled,  will  be  found  to  have 
crept  up  till  it  measures  no  more  than  perhaps  96  to  99  yards,  accord- 
ing to  whether  it  is  a  loose  weave  or  a  close  weave. 

Allowance  for  Waste. 

In  estimating  the  amount  of  silk  required,  the  waste  must  be  al- 
lowed for.  Waste  is  made  in  all  processes,  but  particularly  in  weaving. 
With  good  silk,  good  preparation,  and  good  management,  this  item 
should  not  be  large,  though  with  the  reverse  conditions  it  may  be  dis- 
tressing. A  very  customary  allowance  to  make  is  4  per  cent,  for  warp 
and  7  per  cent,  for  filling,  an  average  of  5^  per  cent,  if  equal  quanti- 
ties were  used. 

These  figures,  while  none  too  high  for  fancies — and  not  high 
enough  in  certain  cases — are  rather  large  for  a  plain  goods  production 
in  which,  on  close  calculations,  figures  of  3  per  cent,  for  warp  and  5 
per  cent,  for  filling  should  suffice.  Raw-silk  warps,  again,  may  be 
worked  within  a  2  per  cent,  wastage. 

The  writer's  experience  has  been  that,  on  steady  work,  with  an 
output  of  two-thirds  plain  fabrics  and  the  rest  fancies,  using  high- 
class  silk  and  with  skillful  help,  the  waste  actually  made  can  be  kept 
down  to  an  average  of  2^4  per  cent,  right  along.  To  this  should  be 
added  something  to  cover  the  losses,  made  in  the  sale  or  in  the  working 
up  of  any  remnant  lots  left  on  the  bobbins. 

Filling  Figured  on  Width  in  Reed. 

In  calculating  the  filling  required,  the  length  of  the  picks  should 
be  taken  as  being  the  same  as  the  width  that  the  goods  are  in  the  reed. 
Careful  tests  show  that  it  is  very  slightly  in  excess  of  this,  but  so  lit- 
tle as  generally  to  be  negligible. 

The  ends  used  in  the  selvages  of  the  goods  should  be  included  in 
the  warp  requirements. 

As  each  of  the  foregoing  points  will  affect  the  amount  of  material 
that  must  be  provided  for  a  given  quantity  of  goods,  it  is  evident,  as 


COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND    RIBBONS        159 

previously  stated,  that  it  is  impossible  to  say  exactly  how  much  will 
be  required. 

Raw-silk  Prices. 

A  very  grave  question  is  the  pricre  at  which  the  silk  shall  be  figured 
in  at,  and  different  mills,  making  the  same  or  similar  fabrics,  may  treat 
this  subject  so  differently  that  their  asking  prices  may  vary  consid- 
erably in  consequence. 

Now,  the  most  important  costs  are  those  of  plain  fabrics  of  large 
sale,  on  which  the  competition  is  therefore  very  sharp,  and  on  which 
it  is  hard  to  secure  any  but  the  most  meagre  profit.  When  prices  are 
once  fixed  for  the  season  on  such  a  line,  and  the  goods  well  distributed, 
it  is  generally  impossible  to  secure  any  advance  even  if  costs  go  up, 
for  a  demand  for  an  increased  price  on  later  orders  would  only  result 
in  stopping  the  sales,  some  competitor  always  standing  ready  to  book 
business  at  the  old  figure. 

A  failure  on  the  part  of  a  mill  to  price  its  goods  on  as  low  a  level  as 
the  average  market  price  made  by  other  firms  for  similar  goods — which, 
perhaps,  may  not  even  be  quite  so  good  but  which  answer  the  purpose, 
will  result  in  very  little  business  being  booked,  and  one  is  then  con- 
fronted with  the  alternative  of  a  great  loss -by  the  stoppage  of  looms, 
and  consequent  disorganization  and  shortage  of  production  at  the 
mills,  (always  an  unknown  quantity,  but  always  very  large),  or  a 
probably  smaller  loss  by  accepting  business  at  the  ruling  market  rate, 
which  may  be  less  than  cost.  The  latter  alternative  is  frequently  ac- 
cepted, as  no  house  wishes  to  lose  its  customers,  even  for  a  season,  or 
to  have  its  goods  pushed  out  by  those  of  its  rivals,  for  when  once  out 
it  is  a  difficult  and  expensive  matter  to  get  back  in  the  swim  again. 
The  stock  of  silk  provided  for  the  season's  business  has  also  got  to  be 
considered,  for,  if  not  worked  up,  it  will  lock  up  capital,  eat  up  interest, 
and,  if  the  market  goes  off,  it  may  depreciate  heavily  in  price. 

Some  mills,  too,  are  under  the  military  necessity  of  keeping  run- 
ning, as  they  are  financially  so  weak  that  to  stop  production  would 
mean  liquidation,  and  liquidation  would  mean  insolvency.  They  must 
run,  as  they  must  have  the  advances  from  their  commission  houses,  on 
goods  coming  forward,  to  take  care  of  maturing  payments,  and  to 
make  stock  goods  for  advances  would  mean  a  much  heavier  loss  when 
they  were  cleaned  up  than  what  doing  an  order  business  even  at  a  cent 
or  two  less  than  cost  would  be. 

All  of  this  emphasizes  the  vital  importance  of  properly  determining 
the  raw-silk  costs,  and  the  fear  of  figuring  the  goods  too  high  leads 
frequently  to  the  giving  away  to  customers,  in  the  shape  of  too  low 
prices,  handsome  profits  that  the  mill  should  have  reaped  from  large 
purchases  of  raw  material  made  at  a  much  lower  level  than  the  ruling 
market. 


i6o       COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS  AND   RIBBONS 

Losses  Caused  by  Fluctuations  in  Raw  Material  Prices. 

This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  goods  will  be  so  slow  to  advance 
even  when  higher  silk  has  increased  the  costs  largely,  as  some  mills 
will  have  a  lot  of  cheap  silk  contracted  for,  but,  owing  to  the  pressure 
put  on  them  by  their  customers  and  their  own  salesmen,  they  are  bluffed 
out  of  getting  the  increase  that  they  should,  and  take  orders  at  old 
prices  so  long  as  their  cheap  silk  lasts,  not  making  any  serious  effort  to 
get  an  advance  till  they  have  to  go  into  the  market  for  new  silk.  Mean- 
time, other  houses,  not  so  well  situated  in  the  matter  of  raw  material, 
are  forced  to  meet  the  old  prices  and  to  accept  business  on  an  un- 
profitable basis. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  silk  market  falls  sharply,  or  shows  signs 
of  great  weakness,  there  are  always  some  houses,  short  of  silk,  who 
discount  the  situation  by  offering  to  book  orders  at  a  lower  level,  trust- 
ing to  cover  themselves  with  silk,  when  it  is  needed,  at  a  satisfactory 
price.  They  often  profit  handsomely  by  this  policy,  but  those  who  are 
long  of  silk,  or  of  stock  goods,  suffer  severely  by  the  increased  depre- 
ciation caused  by  these  bear  tactics.  Whichever  way  it  goes,  the  buyer 
is  favored,  and  every  season,  when  prices  fluctuate  much,  some  or  other 
of  the  mills  are  heavy  losers. 

How  Cancellations  Affect  the  Manufacturers. 

This  is  entirely  apart  from  the  loss  that  comes  home  to  mills  when 
they  have  to  buy  higher  priced  silk  than  figured  on  to  fill  their  orders, 
or  the  loss  that  falls  on  them  by  the  practice  of  nominally  respectable 
dry-goods,  or  cutting-up,  houses,  welching  on  their  contracts  when  the 
market  falls  heavily,  and  to  fill  which  contracts  manufacturers  have 
provided  the  silk  necessary  to  make  them. 

These  manufacturers  have  got  to  keep  their  contracts  to  the  letter 
with  the  raw-silk  houses  from  whom  they  have  ordered  their  supplies 
of  raw  materials,  and,  consequently,  on  such  silk  they  are  left  to  swal- 
low a  loss  of  a  dollar  or  two  a  pound  by  the  disreputable  and  dishonest 
acts  of  those  merchants  who  consider  themselves  most  respectable  and 
most  honest. 

In  such  a  difficult  and  complicated  business  as  silk  manufacturing, 
in  which  so  many  unforeseen  emergencies  arise,  every  mill  must  suf- 
fer more  or  less  from  those  cancellations  that  the  buyer  is  quite  justi- 
fied in  making,  such  as  for  late  delivery,  faulty  construction,  inferior 
quality,  off  shades,  or  failure  to  produce  goods  commercially  up  to  the 
sample  from  which  they  were  sold.  Such  cancellations  are  legitimate, 
and  a  part  of  the  game,  and  the  manufacturer  must  lay  out  his  work 
and  make  his  goods  so  as  not  to  incur  the  risk  of  them,  and  for  such 
as  are  unavoidable,  he  must  grin  and  bear  it. 

The  other  sorts  of  cancellations,  however,  are  simply  an  indirect  form 
of  larceny,  particularly  in  view  of  the  fact  that,  if  the  market  for  raw- 
silk  has  advanced,  every  buyer  will  demand  the  delivery  of  every  piece 


COSTING    OF  BROAD   SILKS  AND   RIBBONS       161 

bought  and  at  the  price  arranged  for,  no  matter  what  it  costs  the  manu- 
facturer to  provide  the  silk.  These  cancellations  are  very  bitter  pills,  but 
are  swallowed  by  the  sellers  as  the  least  of  two  evils,  as  no  one  feels  like 
having  to  sue  the  majority  of  his.  customers.  In  any  other  trade,  a 
house  that  deliberately  repudiated  its  contracts,  because  it  seemed  profit- 
ble  to  do  so,  would  be  kicked  out  of  the  company  of  its  associates,  and 
it  is  an  interesting  question  how  long  the  textile  manufacturers  will 
consent  to  be  robbed  in  this  way,  or  if  they  will  ever  organize  them- 
selves in  such  an  effective  manner  as  to  compel  the  houses  ordering 
their  goods  to  practice  common  honesty  . 

How  Should  the  Raw-silk  be  Figured? 

Having  in  mind  the  importance  of  this  matter  of  not  making  any 
mistake  in  pricing  the  silk  on  the  cost  sheet,  how  should  one  proceed? 

If  the  market  is  firm  and  steady  the  current  quotations  for  the 
quality  of  the  silk  needed  may  be  taken ;  or  the  average  cost  of  such 
suitable  silk  as  a  mill  has  on  hand  (whether  bought  lower  or  higher 
than  the  ruling  price)  may  be  averaged  up  with  whatever  quantity  of 
new  silk  will  be  needed  for  the  season's  business ;  or  the  view  may  be 
taken  that  the  market  is  likely  to  be  a  rising  one,  and  a  guess  made 
as  to  how  much  extra  to  allow  to  cover  this  contingency ;  or,  conversely, 
if  the  market  is  thought  to  be  weak,  a  lower  cost  basis  may  be  made  in 
the  hope  of  covering  at  lower  prices. 

Such  views  as  these,  or  perhaps  other  ones,  may  prevail,  and  as  one 
or  the  other  may  best  suit  the  interest  of  the  various  mills,  there  can,  of 
course,  be  no  concert  of  action  in  such  cases,  no  matter  how  desirable 
it  might  be.  The  question  is  further  complicated  by  the  policy  of  the 
different  mills,  some  using  a  Best  No.  i,  some  an  Extra,  and  some  an 
Extra  Classical,  for  the  same  work,  and  by  the  fact  that  these  grades 
vary  in  merit  from  season  to  season,  so  that  one  year  an  Extra  will 
do  the  work  that  required  an  Extra  Classical  the  year  before.  It  may 
safely  be  said,  however,  that  a  manufacturer  is  seldom  justified  in  pric- 
ing his  silk  at  a  less  cost  than  he  has  reason  to  believe  he  can  replace 
it  at  during  the  season. 

A  point  often  lost  sight  of  is  that  of  the  terms  on  which  the  silk 
is  bought.  Between  a  lo-day  purchase  and  a  6-months'  one,  there  is  a 
difference  of  3  per  cent.,  and,  between  a  silk  bought  on  a  conditioned 
weight  basis  and  an  Asiatic  silk  bought  on  invoice  weight  there  may  be 
a  difference  of  2  per  cent.  This  should  be  allowed  for.  Some  firms, 
who  discount  their  bills,  may  put  in  the  silk  at  the  net  price  and  other 
firms  who  take  the  time  will  figure  on  the  gross  price. 

Of  course,  if  the  net  discounted  price  on  the  raw-silk  is  used,  the 
item  of  general  expense  will  be  correspondingly  higher,  as  the  money 
used  to  pay  the  bill  must  bear  interest,  whether  borrowed  or  not,  and 
the  interest  included  in  the  general  expense  will  be  just  that  much 
greater. 


162       COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND    RIBBONS 

The  General  Expense  Item. 

We  now  come  to  the  important  point  of  the  proper  figure  to  allot 
for  general  expenses.  This  is  a  very  vexed  question  and  hardly  any 
two  people  handle  it  in  exactly  the  same  way. 

The  experience  of  a  mill  as  to  its  annual  expenses  (which  should 
be  carefully  tabulated  at  the  end  of  every  year)  will  furnish  a  fairly 
accurate  estimate  as  to  the  money  that  it  will  cost  to  take  care  of  the 
many  items  of  mill  cost,  such  as  power,  light,  heat,  water,  rentals,  sup- 
plies, mechanical  labor,  and  other  labor  paid  for  by  the  week  and  not 
included  in  the  cost  sheet,  salaries,  clerk  hire,  insurance,  taxes,  interest 
charges,  depreciation,  office  expense,  delivery  and  transportation  ex- 
pense, etc.  These  costs  may  increase  or  diminish  from  year  to  year 
(they  generally  increase)  but  the  record  of  each  year  is  a  guide  to  the 
next.  Any  rentals  to  be  paid  are  known.  So  are  the  salaries  of  officers, 
or  partners.  The  various  items  will  amount  to  a  large  sum  of  money. 

Losses  from  "Seconds." 

Another  thing  not  to  be  forgotten  is  an  allowance  to  cover  the 
losses  arising  from  seconds.  Some  seconds  there  always  will  be,  and 
their  amount  will  depend  on  the  class  of  goods  made,  the  skill  of  the 
help,  the  character  and  methods  of  the  management,  and  a  certain 
amount  of  sheer  luck.  Losses  from  this  cause  should  be  accurately 
tabulated  and  included  in  the  estimates. 

Figuring  the  Depreciation  of  Plant. 

Then  comes  the  important  item  of  depreciation  of  machinery  and 
plant.  The  depreciation  is  a  real  thing.  Replacements  must  be  pro- 
vided for,  and  whatever  is  set  aside  for  this  purpose  should  be  with- 
drawn annually  from  the  active  uses  of  the  business,  in  cash,  and  in- 
vested as  a  sinking  fund,  to  the  end  that  when  new  equipment  is 
needed  the  cash  will  be  within  reach  to  pay  for  it  and  not,  as  is  com- 
monly the  case,  melted  in  with  the  general  assets  of  the  business  where 
it  cannot  be  reached. 

Various  views  of  depreciation  are  taken.  Some  firms  write  off 
10%  of  the  original  value  annually,  so  that  at  the  end  of  ten 
years  they  have  no  more  to  write  off.  Others  write  off  10%  on 
the  yearly  diminishing  amount,  till  it  is  reduced  to  from  25  to 
40%  of  the  original  cost,  and  then  stop  writing  off,  figuring  that 
in  selling  the  machinery  as  second  hand  it  would  realize  that  sum. 
Others  write  off  25  to  50%  immediately  on  the  installation  of  the 
machinery,  and  then  5  to  10%  a  year  thereafter.  On  no  subject  are 
views  and  methods  more  diverse,  or  so  often  illogical.  I  know  an 
owner  of  great  cotton  mill  interests,  who,  wishing  to  keep  the  rate 
of  dividends  steady,  does  his  writing  off  according  to  circumstances. 
In  a  good  year  he  will  write  off  15  to  20%  ;  in  a  bad  year,  nothing. 
If  there  are  enough  good  years  to  keep  the  average  right,  there  is  some- 


COSTING    OF  BROAD   SILKS  AND   RIBBONS       163 

thing  to  be  said  in  favor  of  this  way  of  charging  the  profits  with  the 
amount  of  depreciation  expenses  that  they  will  stand. 

My  own  opinion  is  that  the  sum  of  money  to  be  set  aside  an- 
nually, should  be  about  7/^%  on*  the  new  cost  of  textile  machinery, 
if  the  same  is  constantly  kept  in  the  best  kind  of  repair;  2^2%  on 
good  brick  buildings,  well  kept  up,  and  10%  on  boilers,  engines,  etc. 
Engines,  properly  cared  for,  do  not  wear  out  in  practice,  and  boilers 
have  a  longer  life  than  ten  years,  yet,  if  a  business  grows,  they  have 
to  be  replaced  from  time  to  time  by  larger  units,  and  when  removed 
will  hardly  sell  for  the  cost  of  handling  them. 

Expenditures  on  Interest  Account. 

The  interest  paid  out  for  loans  from  banks  or  commission  houses 
is  easily  arrived  at.  The  expense  account  of  the  business,  too,  is 
properly  chargeable  with  legal  interest  on  the  net  value  of  the  assets, 
that  is,  the  value  of  the  capital  invested  in  the  business.  This  is 
a  sum  that  will  probably  change  from  time  to  time  as  money  is  made 
or  lost,  and  interest  should  be  charged  up  accordingly.  Here  an  in- 
teresting point  comes  up: 

"A,"  "B,"  and  "C"  are  partners,  "A"  contributing  the  capital,  say 
$500,000,  and  the  others  the  experience.  The  business  is  charged  with 
$30,000  a  year  interest  due  "A"  for  the  use  of  his  capital,  and  this 
sum  has  to  be  earned  before  any  profits  are  made  for  the  partners  as  a 
firm.  Later  the  concern  is  incorporated,  "A"  taking  shares  for  his 
capital.  He  now  ceases  to  receive  his  6  per  cent,  interest  directly, 
and  the  earnings  of  the  concern  as  a  corporation  will  appear  to  be 
$30,000  a  year  greater  than  as  a  private  firm,  and  what  is  of  real 
importance,  this  $30,000  will  no  longer  be  included  in  the  expenses  of 
the  business  and  will  make  the  item  of  general  expenses  that  much 
less.  If  the  mill  had  an  output  of  2,000,000  yards  a  year  the  ap- 
parent cost  of  the  goods  made  by  the  corporation  would  be  i^  cents 
a  yard  less  than  the  cost  of  the  same  goods  made  by  the  firm. 

Designing  Expenses. 

In  the  costing  of  figured  goods,  where  the  expense  for  designs 
and  cards  runs  up  to  a  large  amount,  or  in  printed  and  print-warp 
goods,  where  big  sums  are  paid  for  designs,  rollers,  and  sampling, 
the  proper  expressing  of  these  expenses  on  the  cost  sheet  is  most 
difficult.  The  number  and  cost  of  the  patterns  that  must  be  provided 
for  the  amount  of  business  done  is  absurd,  and  the  two  horns  of  the 
dilemma  are  that  if  you  do  not  offer  a  big  collection  to  the  trade  you 
get  but  few  orders,  while  if  you  base  your  costs  with  a  view  to  being 
recouped  for  these  expenses,  it  lands  you  at  a  price  where  you  can  do 
no  business  at  all. 

Gentlemen  from  the  dress-silk  end  of  the  trade,  who  have  branched 
out  into  the  neck-tie  silk  trade  have  learned  something  on  this  score. 


164       COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND    RIBBONS 

This  neck-tie  silk  trade  has  huge  expenses  special  to  it,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  the  enormous  number  of  styles  on  which  the  busi- 
ness is  done;  the  considerable  stock  of  warps  and  dyed  silk  that  has 
to  be  carried  to  make  the  short  time  deliveries  demanded  in  that  trade ; 
the  very  short  warps  and  the  special  designs  ordered,  and  the  conse- 
quent great  expense  for  the  labor  and  material  required  to  make 
them ;  and  among  the  many  other  difficult  features  may  be  mentioned 
the  curse  of  having  to  make  advance  samples,  when,  for  quite  a 
period,  much  of  the  mill  will  be  running  on  sample  warps  at  great  ex- 
pense, for  which  next  to  nothing  is  received.  Many  who  have  in- 
vaded that  field  have  realized  the  truth  of  the  saying  that  the  cobbler 
should  stick  to  his  last. 

Partners'  Salaries. 

Regardless  of  what  the  salaries  of  partners,  or  Corporation  officers, 
actually  are,  the  expense  account  should  properly  carry  only  fair 
charges  for  this  item,  that  is,  such  sums  as  these  officials  might  be 
worth  if  they  hired  themselves  out  elsewhere.  If  they  are  much  over- 
paid in  the  shape  of  salary,  it  is  an  injustice  to  the  shareholders,  and,, 
by  increasing  the  cost  of  the  goods,  renders  the  mill  less  able  to  meet 
competition. 

How  to  Apportion  the  General  Expense. 

The  annual  expense  being  in  a  measure  approximated,  how  should 
it  be  allotted  to  the  fabrics  being  made?  Very  many  people  add  a 
percentage  to  the  total  of  the  other  items  of  the  cost — a  most  mislead- 
ing and  defective  way,  as  it  takes  no  account  of  whether  the  goods 
weave  fast  or  slowly,  and,  as  silk  goes  up  or  down,  the  allowance  for 
expense  will  be  raised  or  lowered,  while  really  it  should  remain 
relatively  constant. 

The  truth  is  that  the  cost  per  yard  for  general  expense  depends 
upon  the  amount  produced.  The  product  again  is  a  most  variable 
quantity.  The  theoretical  product  is  easily  figured  and  proper  allow- 
ance can  be  made  for  stoppage  of  looms  due  to  changing  shuttles, 
piecing  up  broken  ends,  putting  in  new  warps,  and  what  not.  There  are 
many  elements  that  cannot  so  be  gauged,  which  cut  down  the  produc- 
tion, such  as  absence  of  weavers  from  sickness  or  other  causes,  engine 
or  other  breakdowns,  smashes,  scarcity  of  help,  inexperienced  help, 
very  hot  or  cold  weather,  inferior  silk,  or  silk  poorly  thrown  or  dyed, 
or  delays  in  receiving  silk  from  the  throwster  or  dyer.  These  are 
the  every-day  mill  troubles  and  are  quite  apart  from  such  special 
drawbacks  as  floods,  fires,  strikes,  or  lack  of  orders. 

In  plain-goods  mills,  70  per  cent,  of  the  theoretical  product  may 
be  regarded  as  very  good  practice,  though  in  mills  making  only  one 
or  two  articles  and  using  very  .long  warps  and  extra  size  quills,  or  on 
blacks  only,  or  making  easy  weaves  with  high-class  silk,  this  per- 
centage can  be  largely  increased.  In  fancy-goods  mills  it  will  be  less. 


COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND    RIBBONS       165 

A  very  satisfactory  way  is  to  figure  that  each  loom  must  earn  its 
share  of  the  annual  expense.  Thus,  if  the  total  annual  expense  for 
500  looms  was  $120,000,  it  would  mean  that  each  loom  must  earn 
$240  of  that  sum,  and  dividing  this  by  fifty  loom  weeks  per  annum 
it  means  that  $4.80  a  week  must  be  earned  by  each  loom.  If,  now, 
a  certain  cloth  is  estimated  at  a  product  of  60  yards  a  week,  it  would 
carry  an  expense  of  8  cents  a  yard,  or  if  80  yards  a  week  could  be 
got  off,  then  the  expense  would  be  only  6  cents  a  yard.  Special 
circumstances  may  make  occasional  modifications  necessary,  but  not 
to  any  extent. 

As  the  weavers'  wages  per  yard  are  also  based  on  this  assumption 
of  a  given  product,  it  follows  that  there  is  an  approximate  ratio  be- 
tween such  wages  and  the  expenses  per  yard,  and  many  people  figure 
the  expense  by  taking  a  percentage  of  the  amount  paid  for  weaving. 

The  apportionment  of  expense  to  the  looms  may  be  varied,  charg- 
ing different  amounts  to  the  wide  or  the  narrow,  the  fancy  or  the 
plain,  and  this  may  properly  be  done,  providing  that  the  total  of  the 
allotments  equals  the  expense  to  be  met. 

There  are  other  methods  of  handling  this  important  question,  but 
there  is  one  most  incorrect  way  of  dealing  with  it,  already  noted, 
and  that  is  by  adding  for  expenses  a  percentage  of  the  cost.  Figures 
so  obtained  are  seldom  right  and  are  often  grossly  wrong  and  mis- 
leading. 

Steadiness  of  Operation  an  Important  Factor. 

Another  important  consideration  is  the  fact  that  it  is  very  rarely 
that  a  mill  is  kept  sold  up  all  the  time,  or  if  sold  up,  that  nothing 
interferes  to  prevent  its  operation  at  the  maximum  of  efficiency. 

The  records  of  the  experience  of  a  mill  in  the  matter  of  produc- 
tion must  be  used  in  figuring  the  general  expense. 

Thus,  if  70  per  cent,  of  the  theoretical  production  was  being  got 
off  by  the  looms  in  operation,  and  it  was  shewn  by  the  mill  records 
that  only  80  per  cent,  of  the  plant  had  been  actually  operated  in  past 
practice,  then  the  real  per  cent,  of  the  theoretical  that  is  being  pro- 
duced is  only  70  per  cent,  of  80  per  cent.,  or  56  per  cent,  actual,  and 
the  expense  must  be  figured  accordingly. 

Illustrative  Cost  Sheets. 

On  the  following  pages  are  presented  three  forms  for  use  in  the 
making  of  cost  calculations,  and  which  were  originated  by  the  writer, 
one  for  Broad  Silks,  and  the  others  for  Ribbons,  which  are  correct  in 
principle,  and  which  have  worked  well  in  practice.  It  is  believed  that 
a  careful  study  of  these  forms,  and  of  the  explanations  regarding 
them,  will  be  of  interest  and  profit  to  all  silk  manufacturers. 

In  the  article  which  follows  this  (Cost  Sheets  and  Tables  of 
Weights)  another  and  more  amplified  form  of  cost  sheet,  also  devised 


1 66       COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND    RIBBONS 

by  the  writer,  is  presented,  but  the  methods  of  costing  employed  in 
both  cases  are  identical. 

If  preferred,  the  items  in  these  forms  can  be  re-arranged  so  as 
to  group  together,  first,  all  the  costs  connected  with  the  warp,  that 
is,  the  raw-silk,  throwing,  dyeing,  winding,  warping,  beaming,  and 
twisting,  including  provision  for  take-ups  and  wastes. 

In  a  second  group  would  come  the  cost  of  the  filling,  worked  out 
in  like  manner,  and  including  the  quilling. 

Then  would  follow  the  other  items  of  the  cost. 

If  considered  desirable,  the  charges  for  winding,  doubling,  and 
quilling  can  be  figured  on  the  dyed  weight  basis  instead  of  the  raw 
weight,  and,  in  that  case,  what  the  dyed  weight  of  warp  and  filling 
would  be  must  be  figured  out,  and  multiplied  by  the  prices  actually 
paid  for  labor  on  the  dyed  material.  Working  from  a  raw  weight 
basis  is  the  better  method,  however. 

Systems  of  Counts  for  Numbering  Silks. 

Before  considering  the  cost  sheets  themselves,  it  may  be  well  to 
state  that,  in  figuring  out  the  weights  of  silk  required  for  warp  and 
filling,  it  is  necessary  to  clearly  understand  the  systems  employed  to 
express  the  numbers,  or  counts,  of  the  yarns.  The  following  explana- 
tion will  make  this  clear. 

The  denier  system  of  counts  is  used  for  raw-silks. 

The  dram  system  of  counts  is  commonly  used,  in  the  United 
States,  for  thrown  silks. 

A  i  denier  silk  (there  is  no  such  thing  in  practice)  measures  4,- 
464,528  yards  per  pound,  figuring  from  the  length  of  the  European 
metre,  taken  as  39.370432  inches.  An  11/13  denier  silk,  averaging 
12  deniers,  will  measure  one-twelfth  of  this,  or  372,044  yards  per 
pound;  a  14/16  denier  size,  averaging  15  deniers,  will  be  one-fifteenth 
of  it,  and  so  on. 

A  I  dram  silk  measures  256,000  yards  per  pound.  A  2  dram 
silk  is  one-half  this,  or  128,000  yards;  a  5  dram  silk  is  one-fifth  of  it, 
and  so  on. 

Rules  for  Determining  the  Counts. 

From  these  data  we  derive  the  following  rules: 

1.  To  find  the  yardage  per  pound  of  any  given  denierage,  divide 

4,464,528  by  the  deniers. 

2.  To  find  the  size  in  deniers  of  any  given  yardage  per  pound,  divide 

4,464,528  by  the  yardage. 

5.     To  find  the  yardage  per  pound  of  any  given  dramage,   divide 
256,000  by  the  drams. 

4.  To  find  the  size  in  drams  of  any  given  yardage  per  pound,  divide 

256,000  by  the  yardage. 

5.  To  reduce  any  given  denierage  to  drams,  divide  the  deniers  by 

17.44. 


COSTING    OF   BROAD    SILKS   AND    RIBBONS       167 

6.     To  reduce  any  given  dramage  to  deniers,  multiply  the  drams  by 
17.44. 

Note.     When  figuring  out  the  size,  or  dramage,  of  thrown  silk,  always 

be  careful  to  make  due  allowance  for  increase  of  weight  due  to  the 

soap  and  oil  added  to  it  by  the  throwster,  and  for  the  take-up  in 

twist  in  the  throwing. 

If  accurate  sizing  tests  have  been  made,  the  size  of  the  thrown 

silk  may  be  zvorked  out  from  the  size  of  the  raw,  making  proper 

allowance  for  take-up  in  twist,  but  paying  no  attention  to  additions 

to  the  weight  made  by  the  throwster. 

The  following  remarks  will  present  in  detail  a  full  explanation  as  to 
how  the  figures  are  arrived  at.  The  heavy- faced  type  is  used  to  repre- 
sent what  is  written  in. 

REMARKS  CONCERNING  USE  OF  THE  COST  CALCULA- 
TION FORM  FOR  BROAD  SILK  SHOWN 
HEREWITH. 

This  form  is  for  100  yards  finished  cloth.  A  length  of  no  yards 
of  warp  is  assumed  as  enough  to  cover  take-up  in  weaving,  unwoven 
ends  of  warp,  and  headings.  This  can  be  modified  for  goods  with 
more  or  less  take-up. 

The  size,  or  dramage,  of  organzine  and  tram  should  be  figured 
from  Conditioning  House  tests,  and  should  include  an  average  take- 
up  in  twist  of  about  3^%  for  organzine  and  \%  for  tram. 

The  weight  of  silk  for  warp  and  filling  should  include  waste  in 
weaving  and  preparatory  processes,  and  is  here  assumed  as  4%  for 
warp  and  7%  for  filling,  a  very  full  figure  if  for  plain  goods.  This 
can  be  modified  according  to  experience  but  is  an  item  that  is  often 
underestimated.  Weights  should  be  figured  on  Raw  Conditioned 
basis. 

Figuring  the  Weight  of  the  Organzine. 

The  figures  for  organzine  are  arrived  at  as  follows:  The  size  of 
the  raw-silk,  in  this  case,  has  been  found,  by  the  Compound  Sizing 
Test  of  the  Conditioning  House,  to  be  14.32  deniers.  Doubling  this, 
for  2-thread  organzine,  makes  it  28.64,  and  adding  3^  per  cent,  for 
take-up  in  twist  brings  it  up  to  29.64.  Reducing  this  to  drams,  by 
dividing  it  by  the  constant  17.44,  we  get  a  dramage  of  1.70  for  the  silk, 
soap  and  oil  not  included. 

Next,  divide  256,000  yards — the  length  of  I  pound  of  a  I  dram 
silk — by  this  1.70  drams,  and  we  get  a  yardage  of  150,588  per  pound. 

We  then  multiply  6,524  ends  by  no  yards,  and  find  that  the  warp 
will  require  717,640  yards  of  silk.  To  this  we  add  4  per  cent,  for 
waste,  or  28,706  yards,  making  a  total  of  746,346  yards  to  be  provided. 


BROAD  SILK  COST  CALCULATION. 

Date,  January  1,  1908. 

Pattern Quality,  J.  C 100  Yards. . . . .35%  Wide. 

Description,  Black  Taffeta.        Reeding,  60/3.        Width  in  Reed,  36. 


Warp         6416  Ends  Organzine     1.70  Drams  4.95  Raw.lbs @  $5.95        $29.45 

110  Yds "    2  Thd.  13/15  Den.        «      Ex.  Jap.  Fil. ,  $ 


Selvages       108=36  

1    &  2 

« 

$ 

Total     ...   6524  Ends 
FILLING    88  Picks 

Tram 

2  57  Drains  3.41  Raw  Ibs 

@  $5.81        $1981 

100    Yds 

1    End 

3  Thd.  14/16  Jap.  FiL  No.  1;... 

« 

«              ft 

• 

« 

Total     .    .   88  Picks 


Warping     110  Yds.      6524   Ends  @  3  per  CM.  $  1.96 

Twisting .6488  Ends  @  25   per  M.  —  1.62   -*-  3  $    .54 

Weaving    ; 1   Shuttle     99  Yards  @  7 $6.93 

Picking 99  Yards  @  34....$    .75 

Clipping 99  Yards 

Cleaning 99  Yards 

Gen.   Ex $4.80  per  week-^90  Yds.    100  Yards 

Pattern    Expense 100  Yards 

Special  Harness  Expense   100  Yards 

Finishing   100  Yards 

Piece  Dyeing  or  Printing 100  Yards 

Print  Wp.  Wvg.  before  Printing 110  Yards 

Filling  for  same   Ibs. 

Loom  Exp.  for  same 110  Yards 

"        "      Printing — Colors 110  Yards 

"     Re-beaming  Warp   110  Yards 

Re-twisting  Ends @      per  M.  $ 

Special  Expense ... ....   @ 


1  J 

1.00 

1      H-31 

:  

Net  cost  of  100  Yards 

Wgt.  per  100  Yds.  Raw,  7.95  Ibs.    Dyed.  14.05  Ibs. 
Organzine  weighted  to  24/26  02.    Tram  weighted  to  30/32  oz. 


$65.77 


4%  is  included  in  above  weights  for  waste  of  warp. 

7%  is  included  in  above  weights  for  waste  of  filling. 

Zy2%  is  included  in  above  dramage  for  twist  take-up  of  organzine. 

1%  is  included  in  above  dramage  for  twist  take-up  of  tram. 


PARTICULARS  OF  COST  OF 


MATERIALS. 


ORGANZINE       ' 
Raw                     $4.00 

PRAM 
$3.80 
$.35 
$  .11= 
$1.25 
$.15 
$.... 
$.15 

Throwing  .. 
Thr.  Waste. 
Dyeing    .... 
Winding  .  .  . 
Doubling    .  . 
Quilling    .  .  . 

Total  .... 

.$.70 
.$  .10=2% 
.$1.00 
.$.15 
.$.... 
.$.... 

.$5.95 

$5.81 

COTTON,  ETC. 


CONCLUSIONS. 

Net  Mill  Cost  $  .6577 

Net  Store  Cost,  65.77-*  .85....$  .7738 

Regular   Selling   Price .$  .8250 

Less  Com.  and  Discount,  15%.$  .1238 

Net  Estimated  Returns $  .7012 

Less  Net  Mill  Cost $  .6577 

Estimated  Profit  $  .0435 

Weekly  product  per  Loom ...  Yds.  90 


$ . .       Profit  per  Lo*om  per  week $3.915 


COSTING    OF   BROAD   SILKS   AND    RIBBONS       169 

Divide  this  by  the  yardage  per  pound  of  the  silk,  150,588,  and  the 
weight  of  the  organzine  to  be  provided  for  the  warp,  4.95  pounds, 
is  arrived  at. 

Calculating  the  Tram. 

For  the  tram  in  this  example,  the  size  of  the  raw-silk  has  been 
similarly  found  to  be  14.79  deniers,  and  this,  in  3-thread  tram  will 
be  44.37  deniers,  to  which  must  be  added  i  per  cent,  for  take-up 
in  twist,  making  a  size  of  44.81  deniers.  Reducing  this  to  drams, 
by  dividing  it  by  the  constant  17.44,  we  get  a  dramage  of  2.57. 

Next,  divide  256,000  yards  by  this  2.57,  and  we  get  a  yardage  of 
99,611  per  pound. 

There  are  88  picks  per  inch,  each  36  inches  wide  in  the  reed,  re- 
quiring 88  yards  of  filling  per  inch,  equal  to  3,168  yards  per  yard, 
and  316,800  yards  for  the  100  yards.  To  this  we  add  7  per  cent,  for 
waste,  equal  to  22,176  yards,  making,  in  all,  338,976  yards  of  tram 
required  for  the  filling. 

Divide  this  amount  by  the  99,611  yards  per  pound,  and  the  weight 
of  the  tram  needed  for  filling,  3.41  pounds,  is  arrived  at,  soap  and  oil 
not  included. 

The  Value  of  Warp  and  Filling  Tables. 

To  avoid  this  complicated  figuring,  it  is  a  useful  plan  to  prepare 
carefully  worked  out  filling  tables  for  one  or  more  widths  of  goods, 
covering  all  the  ordinary  ranges  of  picks  per  inch,  and  warp  tables 
for  all  ordinary  ranges  of  ends  per  warp,  all  of  them  being  calculated 
for  100  yards  of  cloth.  Such  tables,  of  my  own  composition,  will  be 
found  elsewhere  in  this  book. 

Allowances  for  Take-Ups  and  Wastes. 

The  weights  so  set  forth  can  include  a  standard  weaving  take-up 
of  the  warp  of  10  per  cent.,  an  allowance  for  waste  of  warp  of  4  per 
cent.,  and  an  allowance  for  waste  of  filling  of  7  per  cent.,  or  any  other 
percentages  desired. 

The  take-up  in  twist  in  the  throwing,  averaging  3^  per  cent,  for 
organzine,  and  I  per  cent,  for  tram,  should  be  included  in  the  dram- 
age,  or  size,  of  the  silk  when  figuring  the  same  from  the  denier  sizes 
as  shown  by  the  Compound  Sizing  Tests  of  the  Conditioning  House, 
so  this  allowance  should  not  be  included  in  such  tables. 

How  the  Details  of  the  Cost  Are  Worked  Out. 

Continuing  our  remarks  on  the  calculation  before  us,  we  note  that 
the  estimated  waste  in  throwing  is  filled  in  under  "Particulars  of  Cost 
of  Silk" :  it  should  be  figured  on  the  value  of  the  silk  plus  the  throw- 
ster's charge,  instead  of  on  the  silk  alone.  The  exact  amount  of  the 
waste  can  be  ascertained  by  Conditioning  and  Boil-off  tests. 

The  dyer's  charge  is  made  on  thrown  weight  of  silk,  that  is,  raw 
weight  plus  soap  and  oil.  These  additions  to  the  weight  usually  run 


170       COSTING    OF  BROAD   SILKS  AND   RIBBONS 

from  2  to  4%.  Therefore  the  figure  calculated  for  dyeing  must  be 
the  dyer's  net  price  plus  this  percentage. 

The  winding  and  quilling  costs  are  figured  on  the  raw-silk  weights. 

The  filling  is  calculated  on  the  full  width  of  the  warp  in  the  reed. 

The  warping  cost  is  based  on  a  price  for  100  ends  of  100  metres 
(about  no  yards)  length,  a  very  common  method.  Mills  paying  on 
another  basis  can  use  a  different  factor. 

The  length  of  warp  will  yield  about  300  yards  of  cloth,  so  the 
twisting  cost  is  divided  by  3  to  give  the  cost  for  100  yards.  In  other 
length  warps  use  a  different  divisor.  Any  extra  drawing-in  or 
reeding  expenses  should  here  be  included. 

Weaving,  picking,  clipping,  and  cleaning  are  taken  as  99  yards,  be- 
cause this  length,  or  less,  is  all  that  is  paid  for,  as  the  goods,  when 
relieved  from  the  loom  tension,  will  creep  up  in  length  at  least  i  per 
cent,  for  a  taffeta,  and  perhaps  as  much  as  3  or  4  per  cent,  in  the 
case  of  loosely  bound  satins.  This  shrinkage  is  recovered  in  the  fin- 
ishing and  is  thus  only  a  regain,  and  not  a  gain  as  many  suppose. 

In  figured  goods,  where  loose  threads  float  on  the  back,  or  in 
plaids  where  there  are  loose  ends  at  the  edges,  which  have  to  be 
clipped,  the  cost  of  this  may  be  paid  for  separately,  or  may  be  included 
with  the  picking.  Sometimes  the  weaver  is  required  to  clip  the  edges 
of  plaids,  with  or  without  extra  pay  as  the  case  may  be. 

When  cleaning  expenses  have  to  be  made  for  a  line  of  goods, 
experience  shews  what  proportion  of  the  pieces  will  need  cleaning, 
and  thus  an  average  cost  per  yard  can  be  arrived  at. 

Where  mills  do  their  own  throwing,  dyeing,  finishing,  or  silk  print- 
ing, the  market  prices  for  such  work  should  appear  in  the  cost  sheets, 
the  profit  or  loss  therefrom  to  the  mill  being  shewn  in  the  departmental 
accounts.  The  finishing  is  here  charged  at  the  market  rate. 

"Pattern  Expense"  can  be  filled  in  according  to  the  character  and 
design  of  the  fabric,  and  the  mill  practice. 

What  the  General  Expense  Should  Include. 

"General  Expense,"  as  already  stated,  should  include  every  charge 
upon  the  mill  (exclusive  of  selling  expense),  that  is  not  otherwise 
specifically  provided  for.  It  should  cover  interests  on  investment, 
bonds,  and  loans  from  banks,  commission  houses  and  others;  depre- 
ciation on  buildings,  machinery,  and  power  plant ;  fire,  boiler,  accident 
and  other  insurances;  taxes  and  assessments;  fuel,  water  and  other 
power-house  expenditures ;  all  labor  not  otherwise  allotted ;  salaries  of 
management;  office  expenses,  transportation  charges,  supplies,  inci- 
dentals, and,  in  brief,  every  kind  of  charge  from  watering  the  street 
to  legal  expenses. 

In  apportioning  this  expense,  the  view  here  taken  is  that  each 
loom  must  pay  its  share  of  the  total  annual  expense,  as  previously 
explained,  and  the  figure  given  is  worked  out  by  this  method. 


COSTING    OF   BROAD   SILKS   AND   RIBBONS       171 

Other  Items  of  the  Cost. 

The  cost  of  beaming  has  been  included  in  the  general  expense, 
but  may  be  figured  separately  if  desired.  Frequently  it  is  part  of  the 
warping  charge. 

If  piece-dyed  goods  lose  in  length,  see  that  proper  allowance  is 
made  on  the  cost  sheet.  Some  tussah  fabrics  shrink  heavily. 

The  "Weaving  before  Printing"  item  is  the  weaving  in  of  the 
necessary  binding  picks  every  yard  or  so,  to  preserve  the  pattern. 

In  certain  goods,  umbrella  silks,  moires,  grenadines,  etc.,  there 
may  be  some  special  elements  of  cost  that  must  be  included. 

Weights  and  Weighting. 

The  dyed  weight  of  the  100  yards  of  cloth  is  found  by  deducting 
from  the  weights  of  the  warp  and  filling  the  allowances  made  for 
waste  (4%  and  7%),  and  then  reducing  each  to  the  dyed  weight 
corresponding  with  its  ounces  of  weighting. 

In  deciding  what  weightings  to  order,  boil-off  Conditioning  House 
tests  should  be  carefully  studied,  so  that  the  proportion  of  weighting 
to  actual  silk  fibre  will  be  neither  more  nor  less  than  desired. 

Further  Remarks. 

Prices  of  raw-silks,  bought  on  different  terms  or  on  different  bases 
of  weights,  should  be  reduced  to  a  uniform  basis.  If  desired,  all  cost 
sheets  can  be  made  on  a  settled  basis  of  prices  for  raw  materials,  and 
additions  to,  or  subtractions  from,  the  costs  so  obtained  can  be  made 
as  required,  according  to  market  fluctuations. 

Selling  cost  is  arrived  at  by  dividing  net  mill  cost  by  .85,  experi- 
ence shewing  the  selling  expenses  and  discounts  of  the  average  mill 
to  approximate  15%,  when  goods  are  sold  through  a  commission  house. 

The  heavy  faced  type  represents  the  written-in  calculation,  the 
other  is  the  printed  form. 

The  various  cost  figures  given  therein  are  assumed  simply  for  the 
purpose  of  illustration,  but  are  quite  in  line  with  customary  rates. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  preliminary  calculations  should  always  be 
checked  back  and  verified  by  actual  results. 

Note  carefully  that  the  principal  items  of  cost  are  silk,  weaving, 
and  general  expense.  Therefore,  the  selection  of  proper  raw-silk,  with 
the  best  throwing  and  dyeing,  improves  the  product,  increases  the 
output,  and  reduces  the  cost. 

To  take  any  chances  with  these  important  factors,  for  some  nominal 
saving  in  cost,  invites  the  risk  of  poor  goods,  excessive  waste,  in- 
creased labor  cost,  and  diminished  production,  with  correspondingly 
higher  charges  for  general  expense. 

It  may  further  be  said  that,  even  with  the  most  careful  and  con- 
servative figuring,  it  will  generally  be  found  that  goods  cost  more 
and  not  less  than  the  estimates. 


172       COSTING    OF  BROAD   SILKS  AND   RIBBONS 

THE   COSTING   OF  RIBBONS. 

The  foregoing1  explanations  and  remarks  will  also  apply  to  the  cost 
calculation  forms  for  Ribbons  which  follow.  An  arbitrary  figure  of 
$12.00  per  week,  per  loom,  has  been  here  assumed  as  sufficient  to 
cover  the  general  expenses. 

One  of  these  forms  is  arranged  for  100  yards  of  single  ribbon, 
which  has  the  advantage  in  that  errors  in  calculation  are  much  more 
easily  noticed. 

The  other  is  made  out  to  cover  the  cost  of  the  entire  loom- full 
of  ribbons,  which  is  the  more  customary  way. 

The  principles  and  methods,  however,  remain  the  same. 

Analyses  of  the  Cost  Sheets. 

It  is  often  very  instructive  to  analyze  the  cost  sheets,  and  to  see 
just  how  much  of  the  cost  is  made  up  of  raw  material,  how  much  of 
labor,  and  so  forth. 

I  present  here  such  a  subdivision  of  the  foregoing  calculations  of 
Broad  Silks  and  of  Ribbons. 


ANALYSIS    OF  BROAD   SILK       ANALYSIS    OF   RIBBON   COST. 


Raw-Silk  . 
Throwing 
Th.  Waste 
Dyeing 

Wi    " 


COST. 

Percentages  of  Cost. 

$  % 

.  32.76  .498 

.     4.66  .071 

.       .87  .013 

.     9.21  .140 

.     1.25  .019 

.       .51  .008 

.     1.96  .029 

.       .54  .008 

.     6.93  .106 

.       .75  .011 

.     1.00  .015 

5.33  .082 


rinding    

Quilling  

Warping    

Twisting    

Weaving   

Picking  

Finishing   

General   Expense 


Percentages  of  Cost. 

$  % 

Raw-Silk   3.76  .459 

Throwing 54  .066 

Th.  Waste 10  .012 

Dyeing 88  .108 

Winding    15  .018 

Quilling 06  .007 

Warping    23  .028 

Twisting 06  .007 

Weaving    99  .121 

Picking    08  .010 

Finishing,  Blocking  and 

Boxing    45  .055 

General   Expense 89  .109 


65.77       1.000 


8.19       1.000 


RIBBON  COST  CALCULATION. 

(For   100   Yards=10  ten-yard  pieces.) 

Date,  January  1,  1908. 

Pattern Quality,  X.  L 100  Yards.    Width,  45  Lignes. 

Description.  Black  Taffeta.     Spaces,  18.     Reeding,  60/3.    Width,  4  Inches. 


WARP 
110  Yds 


726  Ends  Organzine     1.70  Dranfs    58   Raw  Ibs. 

....     "      2  Thd.  13/15  Den.  Jap.  Ex.  Fil " 


$5.65....$  3.28 


Selvages   ..   48—24/2 


Total 

FILLING 
100  Yds... 


774  Ends 


Picks  Tram  2.57  Drams 38  Raw  Ibs. 

"     1  End  3  Thd.  13/15  Den.  Jap.  FiL  No.  1. 


$5.81 


2.21 


Total 


Picks 


Warping,   110   Yards 774    Ends  @.  3  i 

Twisting,  750  Ends t@  25  per  Ik 

Weaving,  1.80  per  cut^-18  spaces-5-10 '99  Yards' 

Picking,  */4  per  piece 99  Yards 

Clipping    • 99  Yards 

Cleaning   99  Yards 

General  Ex.,  $12.00  per  week-^18  spaces  -^75  Yds.=  100  Yards 

Pattern    Expense 100  Yards 

Special  Harness  Expense    100  Yards 

Finishing.   Blocking  and   Boxing 100  Yards 

Piece    Dyeing,  or  Printing 100  Yards 

Print  Warp,  Weaving  before  Printing 110  Yards 

Filling  for  same-  Ibs. 

Loom   Exp.  for  same 110  Yards 

Printing — Colors   110  Yards 

Re-beaming  and  spacing HO  Yards 

Re-twisting Ends 


M-  C.M.  $ 
-3$ 

'.'.$ 


.01.. 
.075. 


.23 
.06 
.99 


.89.. 
.45".'. 


..$ 
''' 


.89 

"AS 


Special  Expense 


per  M.~$      -3 


Net  cost  of   100   Yards $8.19 

"Net  cost  of  10  Yards $    .82 

Cost   per   Ligne    82-M5.  .$.0182 

Weight  per  100  Yards  Raw,  .91  Ibs.    Dyed,  1.42  Ibs. 
Organzine  weighted  to  20/22  oz.     Tram  weighted  to  30/32  oz. 

4%-  is  included  in  above  weights  for  waste  of  warp. 

7%  is  included  in  above  weights  for  waste  of  filling. 

3j^%  is  included  in  above  dramage  for  twist  take-up  of  organzine. 

1%  is  included  in  above  dramage  for  twist  take-up  of  tram. 


PARTICULARS  OF  COST  OF 
MATERIALS. 


ORGANZINE 
Raw  Silk   ...$4.00 


$3.80 

Throwing    ..$  .70  $  .35 

Thr.  Waste.. $  .10=2%  ! 

Dyeing   $  .70  $1.25 

Winding  ..,.$  .15  $  .15 

Doubling   ...$....  $ 

Quilling  _....$....  $.15 


TRAM     COTTON.  ETC. 
$ 


$ 

$ 

$..v,. 
$ 


Total   ......$5.65 


$5.81 


CONCLUSIONS. 

Net  mill  cost  per  piece    $    .82 

Net     store     cost     per     piece, 

.82-K85 $    .9647 


Net  mill  cost  per  ligne $    .0182 

Net     store     cost     per     ligne, 

..01S2-K85  $    .0214 

Regular     selling     price,     per 

piece   $  1.10 

Less  Com.  &  Discount,  15%.$    .165 


Net  estimated   return    $    .935 

Less  net  mill  cost $    .820 

Estimated    profit  per    piece.. $    .115 
Weekly  product  per  loom,  18 

spaces  X  75   yds Pieces        135 

Profit  per  loom,  per  week. .  .$15.52 


RIBBON  COST  CALCULATION. 

(For  full  warp.) 

Date.    January    1,    1908. 

Quality  X.  L Description,  Black  Taffeta ..Yards.  300 Spaces,  18 

Reeding,  60 '3.      Width,  45  lignes.    Width  in  reed,  4  inches.  Total  width.  72  inches. 


WARP 
330.  Yds. 


13068  Ends  Organzine.   1.70  Drams 31.32  Raw  Ibs. 

••       2  Thd.  13/15  Den.   Jap.   Ex.  FiL 


$5.65....  $176.95 
...$... 


Selvages          864=24/2x18   

Total...,.   13932  Ends 

FILLING        88  Picks  Tram.  2.57   Drams  20.52  Raw  Ibs.  @  $5.81 $119.22 

300  Yds "        1  End  3  Thd.  13'IS  Den.  Jap.  Fil.  No.  1.      "     @     $ 


Total. 


88  Picks      Loom  speed  100  picks  per  minute. 

Warping  13932  Ends  330  Yards .<§>    3c.  per  CM.    ...$ 

Twisting  13500      '         (5)  25c.  per  M $ 

Weaving  1  Shuttle.  6  Harnesses,  1  Beam 30  Cuts 

Picking 540  Pieces 

Clipping   

Cleaning    

General  Ex.  $12.00  per  wk.  -*-  75  yds  per  wk.=16c...300  Yards 

Pattern  Expense   

Special   Harness   Expense : 

Finishing,   Blocking  and    Boxing 540  Pieces 

Piece  Dyeing,  or  Printing  Ibs.  or  pcs. 

Print  Warp,   Weaving  before    Printing Yards 

Filling  for  same Ibs. 

.   "         Loom  Exp.  for  same . . . , « Yards 

Printing Colors    " 

Re-beaming  and  spacing Hours 


12.54 
3.38 

54.00 
4.05 


Special 


Re-twisting Ends 

Expense     


Net  cost  of   300   Yards    $442.44 

per    10- Yard    piece $      .82 

"      per    ligne $.0182 

Raw  weight  (less  waste),  49.30  Ibs.     Dyed  weight,  76.69  Ibs. 
Organzine  weighted  to  20/22  oz.     Tram  weighted  to    30/32  oz. 

4%  is  included  in  above  weights  for  waste  of  warp. 

7%   is  included  in  above  weights  for  waste  of  filling. 

$l/2%  is  included  in  above  drainage  for  twist  take-up  of  organzine. 

1%  is  included  in  above  drainage  for  twist  take-up  of  tram. 


PARTICULARS   OF   COST   OF 
MATERIALS. 


ORGANZINE 
Raw  Silk   ...$4.00 

Throwing    ..$  .70 
Thr    Waste..  $.10=2% 
Dyeing    $  .70 
Winding    ....$.15 
Doubling         $ 

TRAM 
$3.80 

$.35 
$.11= 
$1.25 
$.15 
$ 

Quilling           $ 

jf.  .  .. 
$  15 

Total   ...,.$5.65 

*P  .1  J 

$5.81 

CONCLUSIONS. 

Net   mill  cost 'per  piece    $    .82 

Net     store     cost     per     piece, 

.82-K85   .$    .9647 


Net  mill  cost  per  ligne $    .0182 

Net     store     cost     per    ligne, 

.0182-K85   $    .0214 


Regular     selling     price,     per 

.  piece $  1.10 

Less  Com.  &  Discount,  15%.$    .165 

Net  estimated  return    .$    .935 

Less  net  mill  cost $    .820 


Estimated  profit  per  piece..  ..$    .115 
Weekly  product  per  loom,  18 

spaces  X  75  yds.=Pieces  135 


$......       Profit  per  loom,  per  week..  .$15.52 


XV 

COST  SHEETS  AND  TABLES  OF  WEIGHTS 


To  arrive  at  the  cost  of  even  the  simplest  piece  of  silk  goods  is 
quite  a  complicated  matter,  while  with  most  of  the  fancy  fabrics  it  is 
a  very  involved  process,  and  one  that  no  one  but  an  expert  could 
work  out  with  any  degree  of  accuracy. 

The  number  of  things  that  have  to  be  taken  into  account  in  a  cost 
calculation  is  remarkable.  There  are  the  varying  percentages  of 
wastes,  and  take-ups,  etc. ;  the  careful  and  judicious  approximating 
of  the  production,  and  the  consequent  allowance  for  weaving  and  for 
general  expense;  the  question  as  to  what  kinds  and  qualities  of  raw- 
silk  and  other  materials  will  be  required,  the  quantities  needed,  and 
at  what  prices  they  should  be  figured;  the  cost  of  the  various  sorts 
of  labor  that  have  to  be  put  upon  the  fabric ;  the  prices  to  be  paid  for 
processes  done  outside  of  the  mill,  etc.,  etc. 

The  principles  underlying  the  proper  costing  of  fabrics  have  already 
been  gone  over  in  a  previous  chapter,  so  they  need  not  be  discussed 
in  detail  here. 

Amplified  Cost  Calculation  Form. 

I  am  presenting  herewith  another  calculation  form,  of  my  own  de- 
vising, differing  somewhat  from  the  one  already  presented  in  the 
previous  chapter,  in  its  being  more  amplified.  On  it  is  figured  out  the 
cost  of  a  24  inch,  rep  and  ombre  satin  stripe,  tie-silk. 

When  cost  calculations  are  sent  to  the  selling  office,  it  is  par- 
ticularly desirable  that  every  possible  element  that  may  affect  the  cost 
shall  be  clearly  set  forth,  so  that  there  may  be  no  uncertainties  in  the 
matter,  and,  by  providing  blanks  to  be  filled  up  for  every  item  that 
may  have  to  be  considered,  there  will  be  nothing  to  be  taken  for 
granted,  and  if  anything  is  omitted,  which  ordinarily  is  liable  to  hap- 


176       COST   SHEETS  AND    TABLES    OF    WEIGHTS 


BROAD  SILK 
COST   CALCULATION 

FOR  100  YARDS  OF  FINISHED  CLOTH 


Date- 


nlaA^L/ 1 s •-. 


Sample../^*?. 


Ave.  length  of  warps...3.3<?...Yd». 


....Width  in  reed....-^.sT.*....Finished  width...<&#..Inches. 


Weighting  . 


RIH^..A?.0....picksTram...&...Thd 


@ $.. 

@ $.. 


No,  of  Beams 


Particulars  of  Cost  of  Material 

Organzine.  Tram.  Cotton,  Etc. 


Throwing    »..JwT»  .........  *.._<&r$  .........  $..—..$ 

'I  hr.  Waste  f.  ./<?.«  .......  '..   $.,/*£  .........   f  .~..» 


Dyeing+a/$...s$  .........  *  ...f<i$  ......... 

Winding      $  ../.C$  .........  $.../£.  $  ........  $  .!?.£.$  ........ 

Doubling     $...—  .$  .........  »...—.$  ........  $...—  ..$  ....... 

Quilling      »...—..$  .......  ..  »../fl<            |  ..—  .I  ....... 

Total           *<£/?.<?.$  .....  ....  $v££./>  ........  $/.&<>.$  ........ 


Conclusions.  .      PB 

B|ouble 
Net  Mill  Cost    ..........  $ 

Selling  Cost  t..4.<t.'..?..?...  -f-83  .  $ 
Regular  Selling  Price  .....  5 

Less  Com.  and  Discount,  \S%  .  > 

Net  Estimated  Return  .....  $  ................ 

Less  Net  Mill  Cost  .......  $  ................ 

Estimated  Profit    ........  $  ................ 

Weekly  Product  per  loom,  Yds.  ^ 
Loom  Earns  per  week    ......  $ 


.«.<?.<?.//>.. 


..•$.,  ?.f>..... 


Warp'g&  Bmg.  110  Yds.. 


.}?....perC  *.. 

M  *..'..ft. -L.  3  $.. 

Weaving.../.. .Shuttles../4f....Harness  99yds.  ©../.$ $.. 

Gen'lExp.  $y'.*T<».perweek-4-.^.<?.yds,  100  "     @../^.»T..$.. 

Pattern  Expense(Cv«^..'t^-i^c-»«^'^J  100   "     © $.. 

Special  Harness  Expense 100  "     ©...^777....$.. 

Cleaning  .  .  .  .   99  "     ©...7777....$.. 


©....?/....$ 
@...~..$ 


Picking  ..................   99  " 

Clipping   .................   99   " 

Finishing    ............  .  .  .  .  100   " 

Piece  Dyeing  or  Printing    .......  100   " 

Print  Warp.  W'vg  before  Printing  .  .  110  " 
"          "      Filling  for  same  .................... 

'      Loom  Exp  for  same  .  .  .  110yds. 
"         "     Printing  ........  '.  .......  Colors  110  " 

"         "      Rebeaming  warp  .....  110   " 

"        •"  Retwist'g  ........  Ends®  ........  per  MS  ............  -~3$ 

Special  Expense  ................................................  ©...77:7^...$ 


Finished  wgt.  100  yards..../£:.^.lbs. 

Finished  cost  per  pound  $..*£&(  ......... 

Fin.  wgt.  per  yd../'?.-£T»oz.     Fin.  wgt.  per  sq.  yd..£...-r/?..oz. 


Net  Cost  •     /  /    -, 
100  Yards  I ^.$. <*.,$.} 


REMARKS:  C« 


Instructions. 

Include  in  Weights,  for  Waste,  4%  for  Warp,  ?V  for  Fillinp  and  5J<  for  .Cop  Filling.  —  Add  An  allowance  ror  tabes  to  cost  of  cop  ya 
Figure  dramage  of  thrown  silks  from  raw  size  in  dealers,  and  include  for  take  up  in  twist  3%%  for  Warp  and       %  for  Filling. 
Winding,  Doubling,  and  Quilling  should  be  figured  on  basis  of  raw  silk  weights.  —  Figure  filling  on  width  in  reed. 
If  piece  dyes  lose  in  length,allow  for  it.  —  If  different  length  warps  than  300  yds.  use  different  divisor  than  3  for  twisting. 
Figure  throwing  waste  as  2%'for  good  Organ,  3%  for  good  Tram.  5%  for  good  Canton,  5%  for  good  Tussah. 


CO$T   SHEETS   AND    TABLES    OF    WEIGHTS        177 

pen,  the  omission  can  be  detected  at  once,  even  by  those  with  but  little 
experience. 

It  was  for  the  especial  purpose  of  making  it  easy  to  understand 
and  check  off  cost  sheets  at  the  selling  department,  that  the  more 
detailed  form  was  devised. 

Tables  of  Weights  and  Their  Uses. 

I  am  also  presenting  some  original  tables  of  weights  for  warp  and 
filling  of  broad  silk  goods,  which  may  be  of  assistance  in  arriving  at 
correct  calculation  weights,  and  the  use  of  which  should  save  much 
time  and  labor. 

Certain  standard  allowances  for  waste,  take-up,  etc.,  have  been 
introduced,  these  standards  being  about  the  maximum  that  might  have 
to  be  allowed  for,  but  the  figures  shewn  can  be  readily  modified  as 
may  be  desired. 

Working  from  standards  insures  uniformity  of  calculation,  and,  in 
the  close  figuring  of  the  costs  of  fabrics  to  which  some  other  factors 
might  apply,  any  such  modifications  of  the  figures  in  the  tables  can 
be  made  as  the  circumstances  may  demand. 

To  the  end  that  every  feature  of  this  cost  sheet  may  be  made  en- 
tirely clear,  the  details  may  be  explained  as  follows: 

Allowance  for  Take-up  in  Weaving. 

The  calculation  being  for  100  yards  of  finished  goods,  an  allow- 
ance of  no  yards  of  warp  is  made  to  cover  the  take-up  in  weaving, 
the  unwoven  ends  of  the  warp,  and  the  headings  of  the  pieces.  In 
many  fabrics  the  take-up  will  not  be  so  great,  but  it  is  better  to  figure 
on  a  standard  basis,  as  it  will  not  be  an  exact  figure,  anyway,  and,  if 
2  or  3  per  cent,  more  warp  has  been  allowed  than  is  necessary,  this 
can  be  borne  in  mind  when  considering  the  selling  price,  or  the  cal- 
culation can  be  modified  to  suit. 

Closely  woven  taffetas,  with  many  picks  of  full  sized  silk,  will  take 
up  all  of  the  10  per  cent. ;  cotton-back  satins,  or  other  eight-shaft 
satins,  may  only  take  up  6  per  cent. ;  messalines  and  other  five-shaft 
satins  may  take  up  7  per  cent.,  etc.,  etc. 

Figuring  the  Sise  of  the  Silk. 

The  dramage  of  the  thrown  silks  should,  when  much  exactness 
is  desired,  be  figured  from  the  size  of  the  raw-silks  as  shown  by  the 
valuable  Compound  Sizing  Test  introduced  by  the  United  States  Silk 
Conditioning  and  Testing  Company.  In  this  test,  20  skeins  of  about 
5,000  yards  each  are  sized  from  each  bale,  and  the  exactness  of  the 
results,  when  compared  with  actual  practice,  is  most  gratifying. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  experience  of  the  mill  may  shew  that  the 
silks  customarily  used  by  it  may  average  up  at  about  certain  dramages, 
and  these  sizes  may  be  used  whether  the  silks  of  which  the  goods  are 
to  be  made  are  running  coarser  or  finer. 


178       COST   SHEETS   AND    TABLES    OF    WEIGHTS 

When  figuring  the  thrown  size  of  the  silk  from  the  raw  size  in 
deniers,  it  is  proper  to  add  to  the  dramage  of  the  organzine  about  3^2 
per  cent.,  and  to  that  of  the  tram  i  per  cent.,  to  cover  the  take-up  in 
twist  for  silks  of  ordinary  sizes  and  in  ordinary  twists. 

Percentage  of  Waste. 

In  addition  to  the  10  per  cent,  allowed  for  weaving  take-up,  there 
may  also  be  included  in  the  weights  of  the  material  required  for  warp 
a  further  allowance  of  4  per  cent,  for  waste,  and,  for  the  filling,  7 
per  cent,  may  be  allowed.  These  standard  allowances  are  rather  high 
for  plain  goods,  but  for  fancies,  or  where  the  product  of  a  mill  is 
subject  to  much  change,  they  are  none  too  great.  The  amount  of 
waste  made  is  very  commonly  underestimated.  Low  levels  of  waste 
on  plain  goods  might  be  put  at  3  per  cent,  for  dyed  warp,  5  per  cent, 
for  dyed  filling,  and  2  per  cent,  for  raw-silk  warp. 

Calculating  the  Weight  of  the  Warp. 

The  weight  of  the  silk  should  be  figured  from  the  raw,  conditioned 
weight,  basis. 

The  organzine  is  figured  as  follows:  The  compound  sizing  test 
shews  the  silk,  in  this  case,  to  be  14.30  deniers.  Doubling  this  for 
2-thread  organzine,  and  adding  3^2  per  cent,  for  take-up  in  twist, 
gives  us  29.60  deniers.  Divide  this  by  17.44,  to  reduce  it  to  drams, 
and  we  get  1.70  as  the  dramage.  Divide  256,000  yards  (the  length  per 
pound  of  i  dram  silk)  by  1.70,  and  we  find  the  yardage  per  pound 
to  be  150,588. 

We  then  multiply  1,920  ends  by  no  yards,  and  find  that  the  warp 
will  require  211,200  yards  of  organzine,  and  to  this  we  add  4  per  cent. 
for  waste,  making  a  total  of  219,648  yards.  Dividing  this  by  150,588 
yards  per  pound,  we  get  1.45  pounds  as  the  weight  of  organzine 
required. 

The  cotton  warp  has  1,900  ends,  so  no  yards  of  warp  will  require 
209,000  yards  of  yarn,  and  with  4  per  cent,  for  waste  added,  the 
amount  will  be  217,360  yards. 

The  cotton  size  of  2/120  equals  1/60,  and,  as  there  are  840  yards 
to  a  number,  the  yardage  per  pound  of  this  size  will  be  50,400. 

Dividing  217,360  yards  by  50,400,  we  get  a  weight  of  4.31  pounds 
as  the  amount  of  the  cotton  yarn  required. 

Calculating  the  Weight  of  the  Filling. 

Turning  to  the  tram,  which  should  always  be  figured  on  the  width 
in  the  reed,  we  find  that  the  compound  sizing  test  shews  the  size  to 
be  14.63  deniers,  which  in  4-thread  would  be  58.54  deniers,  and 
this,  with  i  per  cent,  added  for  take-up  in  twist,  is  increased  to  59.14 
deniers. 

This  size,  divided  by  17.44  to  reduce  it  to  drams,  equals  3.39  drams. 


COST   SHEETS   AND    TABLES    OF    WEIGHTS        179 

Divide,  now,  256,000  yards  (the  length  per  pound  of  i  dram  silk) 
by  3.39,  and  we  get  a  yardage  per  pound  of  75,516. 

Multiplying  next  130  picks  per  inch  by  25  inches  of  width  in  the 
reed,  we  get  3,250  yards  of  tram  for  each  yard  of  cloth,  equal  to 
325,000  yards  for  the  hundred  yards.  Seven  per  cent,  for  waste  added 
to  this  raises  the  amount  to  347,750. 

Dividing  this  by  75,516  yards  per  pound,  we  find  that  the  weight 
of  tram  we  require  will  be  4.61  pounds. 

Modifications  Due  to  Soap  and  Oil. 

In  these  calculations  the  weight  of  soap  and  oil,  added  in  the 
throwing,  is  not  considered.  These  additions  should  be  ascertained  by 
proper  boil-off  tests,  and  due  allowance  should  be  made  for  them 
in  calculating  the  weight  of  thrown  silk  that  must  be  put  in  dyeing, 
and  which  can  be  checked  off  by  the  number  and  length  of  the  skeins. 

Waste  Made  in  Throwing. 

The  waste  in  throwing  is  filled  in  under  the  "  Particulars  of  Cost 
of  Material,"  and  is  here  assumed  as  2  per  cent,  for  organzine  and 
3  per  cent,  for  tram.  The  throwing  waste  for  good  organzine  should 
generally  not  exceed  2  per  cent. ;  good  tram  stock  not  over  2  to  3  per 
cent. ;  good  Cantons  4  to  5  per  cent. ;  and  good  Tussahs  5  per  cent. 
China  silks,  on  account  of  their  harder  gums,  will  usually  make  more 
waste  than  Japans. 

As  the  throwster's  bill  is  based  on  the  weight  of  raw-silk  sent  to 
him,  and  as  throwing  is  therefore  charged  both  on  the  waste  made 
and  the  silk  thrown,  it  follows  that  the  percentage  of  "waste-in-throw- 
ing" figured  should  be  on  this  cost  of  the  silk  plus  the  cost  of  the 
throwing  of  it. 

Dyers'  Prices  Based  on  Thrown  Weights. 

The  net  price  for  dyeing  is  used,  and,  as  the  dyer's  charge  is  based 
on  the  weight  of  the  thrown  silk,  a  percentage  must  be  added  equal 
to  the  percentage  of  soap  and  oil  added  by  the  throwster  to  the  weight 
of  the  raw-silk.  It  is  here  assumed  as  2  per  cent.,  though  frequently 
much  greater. 

Sundry  Labor  and  Other  Expenses. 

Winding,  doubling,  and  quilling  should  be  reduced  to  a  raw-silk 
basis,  and  so  calculated. 

The  columns  for  "Particulars  of  Cost  of  Material"  are  arranged 
in  the  form  most  generally  useful. 

The  warping  cost  is  based  on  the  price  for  warping  100  ends  for 
loo  yards.  Mills  paying  on  another  basis  can  use  a  different  form. 

As  the  warps,  in  this  case,  are  330  yards  long,  to  make  300  yards 
of  cloth,  the  twisting  cost  is  divided  by  three  to  get  at  the  cost  for 


i8o       COST   SHEETS   AND    TABLES    OF    WEIGHTS 

100  yards.  For  9ther  length  warps  use  a  different  divisor.  Extra 
drawing-in  expenses  can  be  here  included. 

The  pattern  expense  can  be  filled  in  according  to  the  mill  practice 
and  the  character  of  the  goods.  Sometimes,  as  in  this  case,  it  is  in- 
cluded in  the  general  expense. 

Special  harness  expense,  or  loom  mounting,  should  not  be  over- 
looked, and  a  space  is  provided  for  this  item. 

The  weaving,  picking,  clipping  and  cleaning  are  based  on  a  length 
of  99  yards,  as  the  cloth,  when  relieved  from  the  loom  tension,  gen- 
erally creeps  in  at  least  I  per  cent,  or  more,  this  shortening  being 
recovered  in  the  finishing,  so  that  the  apparent  gain  there  is  not  really 
a  gain,  but  only  a  regain. 

Shrinkages  in  Length. 

Certain  goods,  cotton-back  satins,  for  instance,  may  run  up  2,  3, 
or  even  4  per  cent.,  in  the  unfinished  state. 

Mills  selling  such  goods  in  the  grey  should  be  keenly  alive  to  this. 

As  the  operative's  pay  is  always  based  on  this  contracted  measure, 
the  constant  of  99  yards  will  almost  always  be  on  the  conservative  side. 

How  to  Apportion  Certain  Costs. 

If  cleaning  expenses  are  incurred,  experience  will  show  what 
percentage  of  the  pieces  need  treating,  and  thus  an  average  cost  per 
yard  can  be  arrived  at. 

When  mills  do  their  own  throwing,  dyeing,  finishing  or  printing, 
the  regular  market  prices  of  such  work  should  appear  on  the  cost 
sheet,  the  profit  or  loss  to  the  mill  thereby  appearing  in  the  depart- 
ment accounts. 

The  General  Expense  and  What  It  Includes. 

The  general  expense  item  should  include  every  charge  upon  the 
mill,  exclusive  of  the  specific  items  here  provided  for.  It  should  in- 
clude interest  charges  of  every  kind,  depreciation  and,  in  fact,  every- 
thing except  selling  expense.  Each  loom  should  earn  its  share  of  the 
annual  expense  of  the  mill,  and  whatever  way  this  expense  be  divided 
among  the  looms,  the  total  charge  on  them  should  equal  the  total 
expense. 

In  the  case  before  us,  the  loom  is  charged  with  $7.50  per  week, 
and,  the  production  being  60  yards  a  week,  we  thus  get  an  expense 
per  yard  of  i2l/2  cents.  If  the  production  were  75  yards  a  week,  the 
charge  would  be  10  cents  a  yard,  and  so  on. 

Other  Factors  in  the  Cost. 

The  cost  of  beaming  is  here  included  with  the  warping,  but,  if 
desired,  it  can  be  figured  separately  if  paid  for  separately. 

Should  piece-dyed  goods  lose  in  length,  and  they  often  do,  be 
careful  to  allow  for  it. 


COST   SHEETS   AND    TABLES    OF    WEIGHTS        181 

The  "Weaving  Before  Printing"  item  is  the  weaving  in  of  the 
necessary  binding  picks,  every  yard  or  so,  to  preserve  the  pattern. 

As  the  time  of  a  loom  is  occupied  in  this  work,  the  expense  of  it 
(including  such  profit  as  it  should  make  if  weaving  goods)  should 
be  charged  against  the  printed  warps,  so  a  space  is  provided  for  this. 

Things  which  Affect  the  Cost  of  Weaving. 

In  the  calculation,  spaces  are  left,  in  connection  with  the  weaving, 
for  the  number  of  shuttles,  the  number  of  harnesses,  the  number  of 
beams,  and  the  loom  speed,  all  of  which  affect  materially  both  the 
weaver's  pay  and  the  production  of  the  loom,  and  consequently  affect 
the  General  Expense. 

Additional  Points  of  Importance. 

To  arrive  at  the  weight  that  the  goods  should  be  when  finished,  the 
increase  by  weighting  should  not  only  be  allowed  for,  but  the  per- 
centages included  for  waste  should  be  deducted  from  the  weights. 

When  schappe  or  spun  silks,  or  fine  cotton  yarns,  on  cops  are  used, 
about  4  per  cent,  should  be  added  to  their  costs  to  cover  the  weight 
of  the  tubes  charged  for  as  yarn.  On  coarser  cottons  the  tubes  may 
weigh  as  high  as  7  per  cent,  of  the  total,  or  even  more. 

To  decide  what  weightings  to  order,  boil-off,  conditioning  house 
tests  should  be  carefully  studied,  so  that  the  proportion  of  weighting 
to  actual  silk  fibre  may  be  neither  more  nor  less  than  desired. 

The  "Selling  Cost"  might  also  be  termed  "Store  Cost."  It  is  the 
figure  at  which,  after  deducting  discounts  and  selling  expense,  neither 
loss  nor  profit  is  shewn. 

Scope  of  the  Tables  of  Weights. 

To  avoid  such  complicated  figuring  as  was  shown  to  be  necessary 
in  determining  the  weights  of  material  required,  with  the  consequent 
risk  of  serious  error,  the  writer  has  worked  out  the  following  tables 
for  warp  and  filling,  as  already  stated. 

These  cover  the  ordinary  range  of  silk  sizes  and  the  usual  propor- 
tions of  ends  and  picks,  and  other,  or  intermediate  figures  can  readily 
be  arrived  at  by  additions  or  divisions  of  them.  The  filling  table  is 
for  2o-inch  width,  from  which  other  widths  can  be  readily  figured. 

It  is  not  altogether  desirable  to  have  tables  for  a  variety  of  widths, 
as  the  wrong  table  is  very  apt  to  be  used  by  mistake.  The  width  of 
20  inches  has  been  here  adopted  as  being  the  most  convenient  for 
figuring  from. 

Explanations  have  already  been  made  regarding  the  take-up  of 
the  warp,  and  the  percentages  of  waste  for  warp  and  filling  that  are 
allowed  for  in  these  tables,  viz. :  4  per  cent,  waste  of  warp,  7  per  cent, 
waste  of  filling,  and  10  per  cent,  take-up  in  weaving. 


SILK  WARP  TABLE. 

Raw  weights  for  110  Yards  of  Warp,  including  4%  waste. 
Number     Yardage  Drams,  and  yards  per  pound  of  each. 

?nCtheS     fnSudhfg25^000   243>809   232,727    222,609   213,333   204,800    196,923 
warp.      4%  waste.  1.  1.05         1.10         1.15         1.20         1.25         1.30 


1,800 

205,920 

.80 

.84 

.88 

.92 

.96 

1.00 

1.05 

2,000 

228,800 

.89 

.94 

.98 

1.02 

1.06 

1.11 

1.16 

2,200 

251,680 

.98 

1.03 

1.08 

1.13 

1.17 

1.22 

1.28 

2,400 

274,560 

1.07 

1.13 

1.18 

1.23 

1.28 

1.32 

1.39 

2,600 

297,440 

1.16 

1.22 

1.28 

1.33 

1.39 

1.44 

1.51 

2,800 

320,320 

1.25 

1.32 

1.38 

1.44 

1.50 

1.56 

1.63 

3,000 

343,200 

1.34 

1.41 

1.47 

1.54 

1.61 

1.68 

1.75 

3,200 

366,080 

1.43 

1.50 

1.57 

1.65 

1.72 

1.79 

1.86 

3,400 

388,960 

1.53 

1.60 

1.68 

1.75 

1.83 

1.91 

1.98 

3,600 

411,840 

1.62 

1.70 

1.78 

1.86 

1.93 

2.01 

2.09 

3,800 

434,720 

1.70 

1.79 

1.87 

1.96 

2.04 

2.12 

2.21 

4,000 

457,600 

1.79 

1.88 

1.97 

2.06 

2.15 

2.24 

2.33 

4,100 

469,040 

1.83 

1.92 

2.01 

2.11 

2.20 

2.29 

2.39 

4,200 

480,480 

1.88 

1.97 

2.07 

2.16 

2.26 

2.35 

2.44 

4,300 

491,920 

1.92 

2.02 

2.11 

2.21 

2.31 

2.40 

2.50 

4,400 

503,360 

1.97 

2.06 

2.17 

2.27 

2.36 

2.46 

2.55 

4,500 

514,800 

2.01 

2.11 

2.21 

2.32 

2.42 

2.51 

2.61 

4,600 

526,240 

2.06 

2.16 

2.26 

2.37 

2.47 

2.57 

2.67 

4,700 

537,680 

2.10 

2.21 

2.31 

2.42 

2.53 

2.63 

2.74 

4,800 

549,120 

2.15 

2.26 

2.36 

2.47 

2.58 

2.69 

2.79 

4,900 

560,560 

2.19 

2.30 

2.41 

2.52 

2.63 

2.74 

2.85 

5,000 

572,000 

2.23 

2.34 

2.45 

2.56 

2.68 

279 

2.90 

5,100 

583,440 

2.28 

2.39 

2.50 

2.61 

2.73 

2.85 

2.96 

5,200 

594,880 

2.32 

2.44 

2.55 

2.66 

2.78 

2.90 

3.02 

5,300 

606,320 

2.37 

2.49 

2.60 

2.72 

2.84 

2.96 

3.08 

5,400 

617,760 

2.41 

2.53 

2.65 

2.77 

2.89 

3.01 

3.14 

5,500 

629,200 

2.46 

2.58 

2.70 

2.82 

2.95 

3.07 

'3.20 

5,600 

640,640 

2.50 

2.63 

2.75 

2.87 

3.00 

3.13 

3.25 

5,700 

652,080 

2.55 

2.68 

2.80 

2.93 

3.06 

3.19 

3.31 

5,800 

663,520 

2.59 

2.72 

2.85 

2.98 

3.11 

3.24 

3.37 

5,900 

674,960 

2.64 

2.77 

2.90 

3.03 

3.16 

3.30 

3.43 

6,000 

686,400 

2.68 

2.82 

2.95 

3.08 

3.22 

3.35 

3.49 

6,200 

709,280 

2.77 

2.91 

3.05 

3.19 

3.33 

3.46 

3.60 

6,400 

732,160 

2.86 

3.01 

3.15 

3.29 

3.43 

3.57 

3.72 

6,600 

755,040 

2.95 

3.10 

3.25 

3.39 

3.54 

3.69 

3.84 

6,800 

777,920 

3.04 

3.19 

3.34 

3.49 

3.65 

3.80 

3.95 

7,000 

800,800 

3.13 

3.29 

3.44 

3.60 

3.76 

3.91 

4.07 

7,200 

823,680 

3.22 

3.38 

3.54 

3.70 

3.86 

4.03 

4.19 

7,400 

846,560 

3.31 

3.48 

3.64 

3.80 

3.97 

4.14 

4.32 

7,600 

869,440 

3.40 

3.57 

3.74 

3.91 

4.08 

4.25 

4.43 

7,800 

892,320 

3.49 

3.67 

3.84 

4.01 

4.19 

4.36 

4.54 

8,000 

915,200 

3.58 

3.76 

3.94 

4.11 

4.29 

4.47 

4.65 

8,200 

938,080 

3.66 

3.85 

4.03 

4.21 

4.39 

4.58 

4.77 

8,400 

960,960 

3.75 

3.94 

4.13 

4.31 

4.50 

4.69 

4.88 

8,600 

983,080 

3.84 

4.03 

4.22 

4.41 

4.60 

4.80 

4.99 

8,800 

1,006,720 

3.93 

4.13 

4.32 

4.52 

4.71 

4.91 

5.11 

9,000 

1,029,600 

4.02 

4.22 

4.42 

4.62 

4.82 

5.02 

5.23 

9,200 

1,052,480 

4.11 

4.32 

4.52 

4.73 

4.93 

5.14 

5.35 

9,400 

1,075,360 

4.20 

4.41 

4.62 

4.83 

5.04 

5.25 

5.46 

9,600 

1,098,240 

4.29 

4.51 

4.72 

4.93 

5.14 

5.36 

5.58 

9,800 

1,121,110 

4.38 

4.60 

4.82 

5.03 

5.25 

5.47 

5.69 

10,000 

1,144,000 

4.47 

4.70 

4.92 

5.14 

5.36 

5.59 

5.81 

SILK    WARP    TABLE— (Continued). 
Raw  weights  for  110  Yards  of  Warp,  including  4%  waste. 

Number     Yardage    ^  Drams,  and  yards  per  pound  of  each. 

h^th^      Including*9'630    182'857    176'552    170'667    165'161    16°'000    155'152 
warp.      4%  wast?.     1.35         1.40         1.45         1.50         1.55         1.60         1.65 


1,800 

205,920 

1.09 

1.13 

'  1.17 

1.21 

1.25 

1.29 

1.33 

2,000 

228,800 

1.21 

1.25 

1.30 

1.34 

1.39 

1.43 

1.47 

2,200 

251,680 

1.33 

1.37 

1.42 

1.47 

1.52 

1.57 

1.62 

2,400 

274,560 

1.45 

1.50 

1.55 

1.61 

1.66 

1.72 

1.77 

2,600 

297,440 

1.57 

1.62 

1.68 

1.74 

1.80 

1.86 

1.92 

2,800 

320,320 

1.69 

1.75 

1.81 

1.88 

1.94 

2.00 

2.06 

3,000 

343,200 

1.81 

1.87 

1.94 

2.01 

2.08 

2.15 

2.21 

3,200 

366,080 

1.93 

2.00 

2.07 

2.14 

2.22 

2.29 

2.36 

3,400 

388,960 

2.05 

2.12 

2.20 

2.28 

2.35 

2.43 

2.51 

3,600 

411,840 

2.17 

2.25 

2.33 

2.41 

2.49 

2.57 

2.65 

3,800 

434,720 

2.29 

2.37 

2.46 

2.54 

2.63 

2.72 

2.80 

4,000 

457,600 

2.41 

2.50 

2.59 

2.68 

2.77 

2.86 

2.95 

4,100 

469,040 

2.48 

2.57 

2.66 

2.75 

2.84 

2.93 

3.02 

4,200 

480,480 

2.54 

2.63 

2.72 

2.82 

2.91 

3.00 

3.09 

4,300 

491,920 

2.59 

2.69 

2.79 

2.88 

2.97 

3.07 

3.16 

4,400 

503,360 

2.65 

2.75 

2.85 

2.95 

3.05 

3.15 

3.24 

4,500 

514,800 

2.72 

2.82 

2.92 

3.02 

3.12 

3.22 

3.32 

4,600 

526,240 

2.77 

2.87 

2.98 

3.08 

3.19 

3.29 

3.39 

4,700 

537,680 

2.85 

2.95 

3.05 

3.15 

3.25 

3.36 

3.46 

4,800 

549,120 

2.90 

3.00 

3.11 

3.22 

3.33 

3.43 

3.53 

4,900 

560,560 

2.95 

3.07 

3.18 

3.28 

3.39 

3.50 

3.61 

5,000 

572,000 

3.01 

3.12 

3.24 

3.35 

3.46 

3.57 

3.68 

5,100 

583,440 

3.08 

3.19 

3.30 

3.45 

3.53 

3.65 

3.76 

5,200 

594,880 

3.14 

3.25 

3.37 

3.49 

3.61 

3.72 

3.83 

5,300 

606,320 

3.20 

3.31 

3.42 

3.56 

3.67 

3.79 

3.91 

5,400 

617,760 

3.27 

3.38 

3.50 

3.63 

3.74 

3.86 

3.98 

5,500 

629,200 

3.32 

3.44 

3.56 

3.69 

3.81 

3.93 

4.05 

5,600 

640,640 

3.38 

3.50 

3.63 

3.75 

3.87 

4.00 

4.12 

5,700 

652,080 

3.44 

3.56 

3.69 

3.82 

3.95 

4.08 

4.20 

5,800 

663,520 

3.50 

3.63 

3.76 

3.89 

4.02 

4.15 

4.27 

5,900 

674,960 

3.56 

3.69 

3.82 

3.95 

4.09 

4.22 

4.34 

6,000 

686,400 

3.62 

3.75 

3.89 

4.02 

4.15 

4.29 

4.42 

6,200 

709,280 

3.74 

3.88 

4.02 

4.16 

4.30 

4.43 

4.57 

6,400 

732.160 

3.86 

4.00 

4.15 

4.29 

4.43 

4.58 

4.72 

6,600 

755,040 

3.98 

4.13 

4.28 

4.42 

•4.57 

4.72 

4.86 

6,800 

777,920 

4.10 

4.25 

-  4.40 

4.56 

4.71 

4.86 

5.01 

7,000 

800,800 

4.22 

4.37 

4.53 

4.69 

4.85 

5.01 

5.16 

7,200 

823,680 

4.35 

4.51 

4.67 

4.83 

4.99 

5.15 

5.31 

7,400 

846,560 

4.46 

4.62 

4.79 

4.96 

5.13 

5.29 

5.45 

7,600 

869,440 

4.58 

4.75 

4.92 

5.09 

5.26 

5.43 

5.60 

7,800 

892,320 

4.71 

4.87 

5.04 

5.23 

5.40 

5.58 

5.75 

8,000 

915,200 

4.83 

5.00 

5.18 

5.36 

5.54 

5.72 

5.89 

8,200 

938,080 

4.95 

5.13 

5.31 

5.50 

5.68 

5.86 

6.04 

8,400 

960,960 

5.07 

5.25 

5.44 

5.63 

5.82 

6.01 

6.19 

8,600 

983,080 

5.18 

5.37 

5.57 

5.76 

5.96 

'6.15 

6.34 

8,800 

1,006,720 

5.31 

5.50 

5.70 

5.90 

6.09 

6.29 

6.48 

9,000 

1,029,600 

5.43 

5.63 

5.83 

6.03 

6.24 

6.44 

6.64 

9,200 

1,052,480 

5.55 

5.75 

5.96 

6.17 

6.37 

6.58 

6.78 

9,400 

1,075,360 

5.67 

5.88 

6.09 

6.30 

6.51 

6.72 

6.92 

9,600 

1,098,240 

5.79 

6.00 

6.22 

6.43 

6.65 

6.86 

7.07 

9,800 

1,121,110 

5.91 

6.13 

6.35 

6.57 

6.79 

7.01 

7.22 

10,000 

1,144,000 

6.03 

6.25 

6.47 

6.70 

6.92 

7.15 

7.37 

SILK    WARP   TABLE— (Continued). 

Raw  weights  for  110  Yards  of  Warp,  including  4%  waste. 
Number     Yardage  Drams,  and  yards  per  pound  of  each. 

foCtheS      i^dudfng150'588    146»286    142,222    138,378    134,737    131,282    128,000 
warp.      4%  waste.    1.70         1.75         1.80         1.85         1.90         1.95         2.00 


1,800 

205,920 

1.37 

1.40 

1.45 

1.49 

1.53 

1.57 

1.61 

2,000 

228,800 

1.52 

1.56 

1.61 

1.65 

1.70 

1.75 

1.79 

2,200 

251,680 

1.67 

1.72 

1.77 

1.82 

1.87 

1.92 

1.97 

2,400 

274,560 

1.83 

1.88 

1.94 

1.99 

2.04 

2.09 

2.15 

2,600 

297,440 

1.98 

2.03 

2.09 

2.15 

2.20 

2.26 

2.32 

2,800 

320,320 

2.12 

2.18 

2.25 

2.31 

2.37 

2.44 

2.50 

3,000 

343,200 

2.28 

2.34 

2.41 

2.48 

2.54 

2.61 

2.68 

3,200 

366,080 

2.43 

2.50 

2.57 

2.64 

2.71 

2.79 

2.86 

3,400 

388,960 

2.59 

2.67 

2.75 

2.82 

2.90 

2.98 

3.06 

3,600 

411,840 

2.74 

2.83 

2.92 

3.00 

3.08 

3.16 

3.24 

3,800 

434,720 

2.89 

2.97 

3.06 

3.15 

3.23 

3.32 

3.40 

4,000 

457,600 

3.04 

3.13 

3.22 

3.31 

3.40 

3.49 

3.58 

4,100 

469,040 

3.11 

3.20 

3.29 

3.38 

3.47 

3.58 

3.66 

4,200 

480,480 

3.18 

3.27 

3.37 

3.47 

3.56 

3.66 

3.75 

4,300 

491,920 

3.26 

3.36 

3.46 

3.55 

3.65 

3.75 

3.84 

4,400 

503,360 

3.34 

3.44 

3.54 

3.63 

3.73 

3.83 

3.93 

4,500 

514,800 

3.42 

3.52 

3.62 

3.71 

3.80 

3.91 

4.02 

4,600 

526,240 

3.49 

3.59 

3.70 

3.80 

3.90 

4.00 

4.11 

4,700 

537,680 

3.57 

3.67 

3.78 

3.89 

3.99 

4.09 

4.20 

4,800 

549,120 

3.64 

3.75 

3.86 

3.97 

4.07 

4.18 

4.29 

4,900 

560,560 

3.72 

3.83 

3.94 

4.05 

4.16 

4.27 

4.38 

5,000 

572,000 

3.79 

3.90 

4.02 

4.13 

4.24 

4.36 

4.47 

5,100 

583,440 

3.87 

3.98 

4.10 

4.22 

4.33 

4.45 

4.56 

5,200 

594,880 

3.95 

4.06 

4.18 

4.30 

4.41 

4.53 

4.65 

5,300 

606,320 

4.03 

4.15 

4.27 

4.39 

4.50 

4.62 

4.74 

5,400 

617,760 

4.10 

4.22 

4.35 

4.47 

4.59 

4.71 

4.83 

5,500 

629,200 

4.18 

4.30 

4.43 

4.55 

4.67 

4.80 

4.92 

5,600 

640,640 

4.25 

4.38 

4.51 

4.63 

4.76 

4.88 

5.01 

5,700 

652,080 

4.33 

4.45 

4.58 

4.71 

4.83 

4.96 

5.09 

5,800 

663,520 

4.40 

4.53 

4.66 

4.79 

4.92 

5.05 

5.18 

5,900 

674,960 

4.47 

4.60 

4.74 

4.87 

5.00 

5.14 

5.27 

6,000 

686,400 

4.55 

4.68 

4.82 

4.95 

5.09 

5.23 

5.36 

6,200 

709,280 

4.71 

4.80 

4.99 

5.12 

5.26 

5.40 

5.54 

6,400 

732,160 

4.86 

5.00 

5.15 

5.29 

5.43 

5.58 

5.72 

6,600 

755,040 

5.01 

5.16 

5.31 

5.46 

5.60 

5.75 

5.90 

6,800 

777,920 

5.16 

5.31 

5.47 

5.62 

5.77 

5.92 

6.08 

7,000 

800,800 

5.32 

5.47 

5.63 

5.89 

5.94 

6.10 

6.26 

7,200 

823,680 

5.47 

5.68 

5.80 

5.96 

6.12 

6.28 

6.44 

7,400 

846,560 

5.62 

5.78 

5.95 

6.12 

6.28 

6.45 

6.61 

7,600 

869,440 

5.77 

5.94 

6.11 

6.28 

6.45 

6.62 

6.79 

7,800 

892.320 

5.92 

6.09 

6.27 

6.44 

6.62 

6.80 

6.97 

8,000 

915,200 

6.07 

6.25 

6.43 

6.61 

6.79 

6.97 

7.15 

8,200 

938,080 

6.23 

6.41 

6.60 

6.78 

6.96 

7.15 

7.33 

8,400 

9^0,960 

6.38 

6.57 

6.76 

6.95 

7.13 

7.32 

7.51 

8,600 

983,080 

6.53 

6.72 

6.92 

7.11 

7.30 

7.50 

7.69 

8,800 

1,006,720 

6.68 

6.88 

7.08 

7.28 

7.47 

7.67 

7.87 

9,000 

1,029,600 

6.84 

7.04 

7.24 

7.44 

7.64 

7.84 

8.04 

9,200 

1,052,480 

6.99 

7.19 

7.40 

7.61 

7.81 

8.02 

8.22 

9,400 

1,075,360 

7.14 

7.35 

7.56 

7.77 

7.98 

8.19 

8.40 

9,600 

1,098,240 

7.29 

7.50 

7.72 

7.94 

8.15 

8.37 

8.58 

9,800 

1,121,110 

7.44 

7.66 

7.88 

8.10 

8.32 

8.54 

8.76 

10,000 

1,144,000 

7.59 

7.81 

8.04 

8.26 

8.49 

8.72 

8.94 

SILK   FILLING   TABLE. 

Raw  weights,  for  100  yards  of  goods — 20  inches  wide — including  7% 
for  waste.    Fillings  should  be  figured  from  widths  in  the  reed. 


Picks 
per 
inch. 

Yardage 
required, 
including 
7%  waste. 

Drams,  and  yards  per  pound 
102,400   98,462   94,815   91,429 
2.50     2.60  *   2.70     2.80 

of  each. 
88,276 
2.90 

85,333 
3.00 

60 

128,400 

1.26 

1.30 

1.35 

1.40 

1.45 

1.50 

62 

132,680 

1.30 

1.34 

1.39 

1.44 

1.50 

1.56 

64 

136,960 

1.34 

1.39 

1.44 

1.49 

1.55 

1.61 

66 

141,240 

1.38 

1.43 

1.48 

1.54 

1.60 

1.66 

68 

145,520 

1.43 

1.47 

1.53 

1.59 

1.65 

1.71 

70 

149,800 

1.47 

1.52 

1.58 

1.64 

1.70 

1.76 

72 

154,080 

1.51 

1.56 

1.62 

1.69 

1.75 

1.81 

74 

158,360 

1.55 

1.60 

1.67 

1.74 

1.80 

1.86 

76 

162,640 

1.59 

1.65 

1.71 

1.78 

1.85 

1.91 

78 

166,920 

1.63 

1.69 

1.76 

1.83 

1.90 

1.96 

80 

171,200 

1.68 

1.74 

1.80 

1.87 

1.94 

2.01 

82 

175,480 

1.72 

1.78 

1.85 

1.92 

1.99 

2.06 

84 

179,760 

1.76 

1.82 

1.89 

1.97 

2.04 

2.11 

86 

184,040 

1.80 

1.87 

1.94 

2.02 

2.09 

2.16 

88 

188,320 

1.84 

1.91 

1.98 

2.06 

2.14 

2.21 

90 

192,600 

1.88 

1.95 

2.03 

2.11 

2.19 

2.26 

92 

196,880 

1.93 

2.00 

2.07 

2.15 

2.23 

2.31 

94 

201,160 

1.97 

2.04 

2.12 

2.20 

2.28 

2.36 

96 

205,440 

2.01 

2.09 

2.17 

2.25 

2.33 

2.41 

98 

209,720 

2.05 

2.13 

2.21 

2.30 

2.38 

2.46 

100 

214,000 

2.09 

2.17 

2.26 

2.35 

2.43 

2.51 

102 

218,280 

2.14 

2.22 

2.30 

2.39 

2.48 

2.56 

104 

222,560 

2.18 

2.26 

2.34 

2.43 

2.52 

2.61 

106 

226,840 

2.22 

2.30 

2.39 

2.48 

2.57 

2.66 

108 

231,120 

2.26 

2.35 

2.44 

2.53 

2.62 

2.71 

110 

235,400 

2.30 

2.39 

2.48 

2.57 

2.67 

2.76 

112 

239,680 

2.34 

2.43 

2.52 

2.62 

2.72 

2.81 

114 

243,960 

2.38 

2.48 

2.57 

2.67 

2.77 

2.86 

116 

248,240 

2.43 

2.52 

2.62 

2.72 

2.82 

2.91 

118 

252,520 

2.47 

2.57 

2.67 

2.77 

2.87 

2.96 

120 

256,800 

2.51 

2.61 

2.71 

2.81 

2.91 

3.01 

122 

261,080 

2.55 

2.66 

2.76 

2.86 

2.96 

3.06 

124 

265,360 

2.59 

2.70 

2.80 

2.90 

3.01 

3.11 

SILK    FILLING   TABLE— (Continued). 

,  for  100  yards  of  goods — 20    inches  wide- 
Fillings  should  be  figured  from  widths  it 

Yardage  Drams,  and  yards  per  pound  of  each. 


Raw  weights,  for  100  yards  of  goods — 20    inches  wide — including  7% 
for  waste.    Fillings  should  be  figured  from  widths  in  the  reed. 


.TICKS 

per 

required, 
including 

82,581 

80,000 

77,576 

75,294 

73,143 

71,111 

inch. 

7%  waste. 

3.10 

3.20 

3.30 

3.40 

3.50 

3.60 

~~60 

128,400 

1.55 

1.60 

1.66 

1.71 

1.76 

1.81 

62 

132,680 

1.61 

1.66 

1.71 

1.76 

1.81 

1.87 

64 

136,960 

1.66 

1.71 

1.77 

1.82 

1.87 

1.93 

66 

141,240 

1.71 

1.77 

1.82 

1.88 

1.93 

1.99 

68 

145,520 

1.76 

1.82 

1.88 

1.94 

1.99 

2.05 

70 

149,800 

1.81 

1.87 

1.93 

1.99 

2.05 

2.11 

72 

154,080 

1.87 

1.93 

1.99 

2.05 

2.11 

2.17 

74 

158,360 

1.92 

1.98 

2.04 

2.11 

2.17 

2.23 

76 

162,640 

1.97 

2.03 

2.10 

2.16 

2.22 

2.29 

78 

166,920 

2.02 

2.09 

2.15 

2.22 

2.28 

2.35 

80 

171,200 

2.07 

2.14 

2.21 

2.28 

2.34 

2.41 

82 

175,480 

2.12 

2.19 

2.26 

2.33 

2.39 

2.47 

84 

179,760 

2.18 

2.25 

2.32 

2.39 

2.45 

2.53 

86 

184,040 

2.23 

2.30 

2.37 

2.44 

2.51 

2.59 

88 

188,320 

2.28 

2.35 

2.43 

2.50 

2.57 

2.65 

90 

192,600 

2.33 

2.41 

2.48 

2.56 

2.63 

2.71 

92 

196,880 

2.38 

2.46 

2.54 

2.62 

2.69 

2.77 

94 

201,160 

2.44 

2.51 

2.59 

2.67 

2.75 

2.83 

96 

205,440 

2.49 

2.59 

2.65 

2.73 

2.81 

2.89 

98 

209,720 

2.54 

2.62 

2.70 

2.79 

2.87 

2.95 

100 

214,000 

2.59 

2.67 

2.76 

2.85 

2.93 

3.01 

102 

218,280 

2.64 

2.72 

2.81 

2.90 

2.99 

3.07 

104 

222,560 

2.69 

2.78 

2.87 

2.96 

3.04 

3.13 

106 

226,840 

2.74 

2.83 

2.92 

3.01 

3.10 

3.19 

108 

231,120 

2.80 

2.89 

2.98 

3.07 

3.16 

3.25 

110 

235,400 

2.85 

2.94 

3.04 

3.13 

3.22 

3.31 

112 

239,680 

2.90 

3.00 

3.09 

3.19 

3.28 

3.37 

114 

243,960 

2.96 

3.05 

3.15 

3.25 

3.34 

3.43 

116 

248,240 

3.01 

3.10 

3.20 

3.30 

3.39 

3.49 

118 

252,520 

3.06 

3.16 

3.26 

3.36 

3.45 

3.55 

120 

256,800 

3.11 

3.21 

3.31 

3.41 

3.51 

3.61 

122 

261,080 

3.16 

3.27 

3.37 

3.47 

3.57 

3.67 

124 

265,360 

3.21 

3.32 

3.42 

3.53 

3.63 

3.74 

SILK    FILLING   TABLE— (Continued). 

Raw  weights,  for  100  yards  of  goods — 20  inches  wide— including  7% 
for  waste.    Fillings  should  be  figured  from  widths  in  the  reed. 


Picks 
per 
inch. 

Yardage 
required, 
including 
7%  waste. 

Drams,  and  yards  per  pound  of  each. 
69,189        67,368        65,641        64,000        62,439 
3.70           3.80    .        3.90            4.00           4.10 

60,952 
4.20 

60 

128,400 

1.86 

1.91 

1.96 

2.01 

2.06 

2.11 

62 

132,680 

1.92 

1.98 

2.03 

2.08 

2.13 

2.18 

64 

136,960 

1.98 

2.04 

2.09 

2.14 

2.19 

2.25 

66 

141,240 

2.04 

2.10 

2.16 

2.21 

2.26 

2.32 

68 

145,520 

2.10 

2.16 

2.22 

2.28 

2.33 

2.39 

70 

149,800 

2.17 

2.23 

2.28 

2.34 

2.40 

2.46 

72 

154,080 

2.23 

2.29 

2.35 

2.41 

2.47 

2.53 

74 

158,360 

2.29 

2.35 

2.41 

2.48 

2.54 

2.60 

76 

162,640 

2.35 

2.42 

2.48 

2.54 

2.60 

2.67 

78 

166,920 

2.41 

2.48 

2.54 

2.61 

2.67 

2.74 

80 

171,200 

2.47 

2.54 

2.61 

2.68 

2.74 

2.81 

82 

175,480 

2.54 

2.61 

2.67 

2.74 

2.81 

2.88 

84 

179,760 

2.60 

2.67 

2.74 

2.81 

2.88 

2.95 

86 

184,040 

2.66 

2.73 

2.80 

2.88 

2.95 

3.02 

88 

188,320 

2.72 

2.80 

2.87 

2.95 

3.02 

3.09 

90 

192,600 

2.78 

2.86 

2.93 

3.01 

3.08 

3.16 

92 

196,880 

2.85 

2.93 

3.00 

3.08 

3.15 

3.23 

94 

201,160 

2.91 

2.99 

3.06 

3.14 

3.22 

3.30 

96 

205,440 

2.97 

3.05 

3.13 

3.21 

3.29 

3.37 

98 

209,720 

3.03 

3.11 

3.19 

3.28 

3.36 

3.44 

100 

214,000 

3.09 

3.18 

3.26 

3.35 

3.43 

3.51 

102 

218,280 

3.16 

3.25 

3.33 

3.41 

3.50 

3.58 

104 

222,560 

3.22 

3.31 

3.39 

3.48 

3.56 

3.65 

106 

226,840 

3.28 

3.37 

3.45 

3.54 

3.63 

3.72 

108 

231,120 

3.34 

3.43 

3.52 

3.61 

3.70 

3.79 

110 

235,400 

3.40 

3.50 

3.59 

3.68 

3.77 

3.86 

112 

239,680 

3.46 

3.56 

3.65 

3.75 

3.84 

3.94 

114 

243,960 

3.52 

3.62 

3.71 

3.81 

3.91 

4.01 

116 

248,240 

3.59 

3.69 

3.78 

3.88 

3.98 

4.08 

118 

252,520 

3.65 

3.75 

3.85 

3.95 

4.05 

4.15 

120 

256,800 

3.71 

3.81 

3.91 

4.01 

4.11 

4.21 

122 

261,080 

3.77 

3.87 

3.97 

4.08 

4.18 

4.28 

124 

265,360 

3.84 

3.94 

4.04 

4.15 

4.25 

4.36 

SILK    FILLING   TABLE— (Continued). 

Raw  weights,  for  100  yards  of  goods — 20  inches  wide — including  7% 
for  waste.    Fillings  should  be  figured  from  widths  in  the  reed. 

Yardage  Drams,  and  yards  per  pound  of  each. 

PperS     including        59'535         58>182        56>888        55'652        54'468        53>333 
inch.      7%  waste.         4.30  4.40  4.50  4.60  4.70  4.80 


60 

128,400 

2.16 

2.21 

2.26 

2.31 

2.36 

2.41 

62 

132,680 

2.23 

2.28 

2.33 

2.39 

2.44 

2.49 

64 

136,960 

2.30 

2.36 

2.41 

2.46 

2.51 

2.57 

66 

141,240 

2.37 

2.43 

2.49 

2.54 

2.59 

2.65 

68 

145,520 

2.44 

2.50 

2.56 

2.62 

2.67 

2.73 

70 

149,800 

2.52 

2.58 

2.63 

2.69 

2.75 

2.81 

72 

154,080 

2.59 

2.65 

2.71 

2.77 

2.83 

2.89 

74 

158,360 

2.66 

2.72 

2.78 

2.85 

2.91 

2.97 

76 

162,640 

2.73 

2.80 

2.86 

2.93 

2.99 

3.05 

78 

166,920 

2.80 

2.87 

2.93 

3.00 

3.06 

3.13 

80 

171,200 

2.88 

2.95 

3.01 

3.08 

3.14 

3.21 

82 

175,480 

2.95 

3.02 

3.08 

3.15 

3.22 

3.29 

84 

179,760 

3.02 

3.09 

3.16 

3.23 

3.30 

3.37 

86 

184,040 

3.09 

3.16 

3.23 

3.31 

3.38 

3.45 

88 

188,320 

3.16 

3.24 

3.31 

3.39 

3.46 

3.53 

90 

192,600 

3.24 

3.32 

3.39 

3.47 

3.54 

3.61 

92 

196,880 

3.31 

3.39 

3.46 

3.54 

3.61 

3.69 

94 

201,160 

3.38 

3.46 

3.54 

3.62 

3.69 

3.77 

96 

205,440 

3.45 

3.53 

3.61 

3.69 

3.77 

3.85 

98 

209,720 

3.52 

3.61 

3.69 

3.77 

3.85 

3.93 

100 

214,000 

3.59 

3.68 

3.76 

3.85 

3.93 

4.02 

102 

218,280 

3.67 

3.75 

3.84 

3.92 

4.01 

4.10 

104 

222,560 

3.74 

3.83 

3.91 

4.00 

4.09 

4.18 

106 

226,840 

3.81 

3.90 

3.99 

4.08 

4.17 

4.26 

108 

231,120 

3.88 

3.97 

4.06 

4.15 

4.24 

4.33 

110 

235,400 

3.95 

4.05 

4.14 

4.23 

4.33 

4.42 

112 

239,680 

4.03 

4.12 

4.21 

4.31 

4.40 

4.50 

114 

243,960 

4.10 

4.20 

4.29 

4.39 

4.48 

4.58 

116 

248,240 

4.17 

4.27 

4.36 

4.46 

4.56 

4.66 

118 

252,520 

4.24 

4.34 

4.44 

4.54 

4.64 

4.74 

120 

256,800 

4.31 

4.41 

4.51 

4.61 

4.71 

4.82 

122 

261,080 

4.38 

4.49 

4.59 

4.69 

4.79 

4.90 

124 

265,360 

4.46 

4.56 

4.66 

4.77 

4.87 

4.98 

SILK    FILLING   TABLE— (Continued). 

Raw  weights,  for  100  yards  of  goods — 20  inches  wide — including  7% 
for  waste.    Fillings  should  be  figured  from  widths  in  the  reed. 


Picks 
per 
inch. 

Yardage 
required, 
including 
7%  waste. 

52,245 
4.90 

Drams,  and 
51,200 
5.00  * 

yards 
50,196 
5.10 

per  pound 
49,231 
5.20 

of  each. 
48,302 
5.30 

47,407 
5.40 

"~60 

128,400 

~2A6 

TsT 

2.56 

760 

~Z66 

2.71 

62 

132,680 

2.54 

2.59 

2.64 

2.69 

2.75 

2.80 

64 

136,960 

2.62 

2.67 

2.72 

2.78 

2.84 

2.89 

66 

141,240 

2.71 

2.76 

2.81 

2.86 

2.92 

2.98 

68 

145,520 

2.79 

2.85 

2.90 

2.95 

3.01 

3.07 

70 

149,800 

2.87 

2.93 

2.98 

3.04 

3.10 

3.16 

72 

154,080 

2.95 

3.01 

3.07 

3.12 

3.19 

3.25 

74 

158,360 

3.03 

3.09 

3.15 

3.21 

3.28 

3.34 

76 

162,640 

3.11 

3.18 

3.24 

3.30 

3.37 

3.43 

78 

166,920 

3.19 

3.26 

3.33 

3.38 

3.46 

3.52 

80 

171,200 

3.28 

3.35 

3.41 

3.49 

3.55 

3.61 

82 

175,480 

3.36 

3.43 

3.49 

3.56 

3.63 

3.70 

84 

179,760 

3.44 

3.51 

3.58 

3.64 

3.72 

3.79 

86 

184,040 

3.52 

3.59 

3.66 

3.73 

3.81 

3.88 

88 

188,320 

3.60 

3.68 

3.75 

3.82 

3.90 

3.97 

90 

192,600 

3.68 

3.76 

3.84 

3.91 

3.99 

4.06 

92 

196,880 

3.77 

3.85 

3.92 

4.00 

4.08 

4.15 

94 

201,160 

3.85 

3.93 

4.01 

4.09 

4.16 

4.24 

96 

205,440 

3.93 

4.01 

4.09 

4.17 

4.25 

4.33 

98 

209,720 

4.01 

4.10 

4.18 

4.25 

4.34 

4.42 

100 

214,000 

4.10 

4.18 

4.26 

4.35 

4.43 

4.51 

102 

218,^80 

4.18 

4.26 

4.35 

4.44 

4.52 

4.60 

104 

222,560 

4.26 

4.35 

4.43 

4.52 

4.61 

4.69 

106 

226,840 

4.34 

4.43 

4.52 

4.61 

4.70 

4.78 

108 

231,120 

4.42 

4.51 

4.60 

4.70 

4.78 

4.87 

110 

235,400 

4.51 

4.60 

4.69 

4.78 

4.88 

4.97 

112 

239,680 

4.59 

4.68 

4.77 

4.87 

4.96 

5.05 

114 

243,960 

4.67 

4.76 

4.86 

4.96 

5.05 

5.14 

116 

248,240 

4.75 

4.85 

4.94 

5.04 

5.14 

5.23 

118 

252,520 

4.84 

4.94 

5.03 

5.13 

5.23 

5.33 

120 

256,800 

4.92 

5.02 

5.12 

5.22 

5.32 

5.42 

122 

261,080 

5.00 

5.10 

5.20 

5.30 

5.40 

5.50 

124 

265,360 

5.08 

5.18 

5.28 

5.39 

5.49 

5.59 

SILK    FILLING   TABLE— (Continued). 

Raw  weights,  for  100  yards  of  goods— 20  inches  wide— including  7% 
for  waste.    Fillings  should  be  figured  from  widths  in  the  reed. 


Yardage 

Drams,  and  yards  per  pound 

of  each. 

Picks 
per 

required, 
including 

46,545 

45,715 

44,912 

44,138 

43,390 

42,667 

inch. 

7<&^waste. 

5.50 

5.60 

5.70 

5.80 

5.90 

6.00 

~~60 

128,400 

"276 

2.80 

2.85 

2.90 

"Z95 

3.00 

62 

132,680 

2.85 

2.90 

2.95 

3.00 

3.06 

3.12 

64 

136,960 

2.94 

2.99 

3.05 

3.10 

3.16 

3.22 

66 

141,240 

3.04 

3.09 

3.15 

3.20 

3.26 

3.32 

68 

145,520 

3.13 

3.18 

3.24 

3.30 

3.36 

3.42 

70 

149,800 

3.22 

3.28 

3.34 

3.40 

3.46 

3.52 

72 

154,080 

3.31 

3.38 

3.44 

3.50 

3.56 

3.62 

74 

158,360 

3.40 

3.47 

3.54 

3.60 

3.66 

372 

76 

162,640 

3.49 

3.56 

3.63 

3.70 

3.76 

3.82 

78 

166,920 

3.59 

3.66 

373 

3.80 

3.86 

3.92 

80 

171,200 

3.68 

3.75 

3.82 

3.89 

3.96 

4.02 

82 

175,480 

3.77 

3.84 

3.91 

3.98 

4.05 

4.12 

84 

179,760 

3.86 

3.94 

4.01 

4.08 

4.15 

4.22 

86 

184,040 

3.95 

4.03 

4.11 

4.18 

4.25 

4.32 

88 

188,320 

4.05 

4.12 

4.20 

4.28 

4.35 

4.42 

90 

192,600 

4.14 

4.22 

4.30 

4.38 

4.45 

4.52 

92 

196,880 

4.23 

4.31 

4.39 

4.47 

4.55 

4.62 

94 

201,160 

4.32 

4.40 

4.48 

4.56 

4.64 

472 

96 

205,440 

4.41 

4.50 

4.58 

4.66 

4.74 

4.82 

98 

209,720 

4.51 

4.60 

4.68 

4.76 

4.84 

4.92 

100 

214,000 

4.60 

4.69 

4.77 

4.86 

4.94 

5.02 

102 

218,280 

4.69 

4.78 

4.87 

4.96 

5.04 

5.12 

104 

222,560 

4.78 

4.87 

4.96 

5.05 

5.14 

5.22 

106 

226,840 

4.87 

4.96 

5.05 

5.14 

5.23 

5.32 

108 

231,120 

4.97 

5.06 

5.15 

5.24 

5.33 

5.42 

110 

235,400 

5.06 

5.15 

5.25 

5.34 

5.43 

5.52 

112 

239,680 

5.15 

5.24 

5.34 

5.44 

5.53 

5.62 

114 

243,960 

5.24 

5.34 

5.44 

5.54 

5.63 

572 

116 

248,240 

5.33 

5.43 

5.53 

5.64 

573 

5.82 

118 

252,520 

5.43 

5.53 

5.63 

573 

5.83 

5.92 

120 

256,800 

5.52 

5.62 

5.72 

5.82 

5.92 

6.02 

122 

261,080 

5.61 

5.71 

5.81 

5.91 

6.01 

6.12 

124 

265,360 

5.70 

5.80 

5.90 

6.00 

6.11 

6.22 

\  These  tables  have  been  made  with  great  care,  and  have  been  all 
carefully  cross-checked,  and  they  are  believed  to  be  entirely  reliable. 
Should  any  errors  be  detected,  the  writer  will  be  greatly  obliged  if 
they  are  brought  to  his  notice. 

Tables  may  also  be  arranged  to  advantage,  according  to  the  needs 
of  the  mill,  for  two-ply  cotton  warps ;  two-ply  and  single  cotton  fillings ; 
two-ply  schappe  or  spun  silk  warps,  and  two-ply  and  single  fillings ;  as 
well  as  for  worsteds,  mohairs,  artificial  silks,  etc.,  etc. 

In  fact,  whenever  the  work  would  be  facilitated  in  any  direction, 
tables  should  always  be  worked  out  and  used. 


XVI 

VERIFICATION   OF   COSTS 


In  a  very  large  number  of  instances,  those  persons  having  the 
principal  ownership  in  textile  mills  do  not  make  their  headquarters 
at  the  mills.  They  visit  them,  of  course,  more  or  less  frequently,  but 
for  many  reasons  find  that  it  suits  them  better  to  be  at  the  selling  end 
rather  than  at  their  manufactories. 

Here  their  time  is  entirely  taken  up  by  the  detail  work  of  the  day, 
and  the  constant  problems  that  are  ever  arising.  They  have  to  oversee 
the  selling  of  their  goods,  the  bringing  forward  of  new  qualities  and 
styles  and  the  fixing  of  the  prices,  the  buying  of  raw  materials,  the 
providing  of  the  necessary  money  for  the  conduct  of  their  operations, 
and  the  conferring  with  all  sorts  of  people  on  all  sorts  of  matters. 

Doubt  as  to  Returns  for  Money  Paid  Out. 

The  costs  of  their  fabrics  have  been  figured  out  with  the  greatest 
care  and  judgment,  and,  so  far  as  they  are  aware,  these  costs  should 
represent  the  outlays  really  being  made.  At  the  same  time,  as  they 
are,  month  by  month,  pouring  out  huge  sums  for  labor,  materials  and 
expenses  (amounts  which  do  not  by  any  means  correspond  with  the 
value  of  the  merchandise  arriving  from  the  mills),  these  responsible 
owners  cannot  but,  at  times,  feel  uneasy  as  to  their  position,  and  as 
to  the  drift  of  their  business.  The  fluctuations  in  the  costs  of  their 
materials,  in  the  volume  of  their  production,  and  in  the  prices  being 
brought  by  their  finished  merchandise,  not  to  mention  a  host  of  other 
causes,  may  be  sufficiently  great  to  profoundly  affect  the  results  of 
the  season's  business. 

Difficulty  of  Investigating. 

In  spite  of  this,  these  principals  can  find  little  opportunity  for 
digging  into  figures  and  into  the  mass  of  detailed  expenditures,  even 


192  VERIFICATION    OF    COSTS 

if  they  were  competent  to  do  so,  and,  should  they  attempt  it,  they 
will  generally  find  themselves  baffled  by  a  perfect  maze  of  complex 
conditions,  which  can  only  be  unraveled  by  a  great  expenditure  of 
time,  patience  and  effort. 

Of  course,  almost  all  concerns  have  accounting  systems,  of  more 
or  less  merit,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  control  over  the  ordinary 
fiscal  operations  of  their  business,  but  as  to  those  classes  of  accounts 
which  will  show  the  money-making,  or  money-losing  factors  in  the 
business,  the  fact  is  that  they  are  too  often  hopelessly  neglected.  The 
principals  may  not  have  the  time,  or  the  technical  ability,  to  organize 
a  proper  system  and  see  that  it  is  followed  up,  and  their  ordinary  office 
subordinates  have  not  the  necessary  manufacturing  knowledge  to  en- 
able them  to  know  what  is  wanted. 

The  consequence  is,  that,  in  the  case  of  mills  whose  operations 
are  anyway  large,  the  proprietors  at  stock-taking  time  may  have  no 
idea  within  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  as  to  the  profit  or  loss  which 
will  be  shown  on  the  closing  of  their  books. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  discuss  the  situation  described, 
with  the  intention  of  pointing  out  the  various  factors  in  the  problem, 
and  suggesting  means  whereby  they  may  be  analyzed  and  recorded, 
and  that,  too,  in  a  manner  involving  but  little  labor  and  which  will 
give  thoroughly  reliable  results. 

Disturbing  Factors  in  the  Situation. 

There  are  many  causes  at  work  which  are  constantly  changing  the 
cost,  and  the  profit,  on  the  goods.  Some  of  the  factors  that  tend  to 
confuse  the  situation  are  as  follows :  First,  the  differences  in  the  stock 
at  the  mills,  between  one  period  and  another,  these  differences  being 
in  the  kinds,  qualities,  sizes  and  condition  of  the  silks,  or  other  ma- 
terials, the  prices  paid  for  the  same,  and  their  varying  quantities.  The 
manner  in  which  they  are  priced  at  different  stock-takings  will  greatly 
affect  the  result. 

Then,  there  is  the  fluctuation  in  raw  material  prices  through  the 
season,  creating  cost  differences  of  large  dimensions.  The  variation 
in  the  volume  of  the  product  from  the  looms,  both  in  its  aggregate 
amount  and  in  the  case  of  individual  kinds  or  qualities  of  goods,  will 
have  a  profound  effect  on  the  cost  of  the  fabrics. 

Next,  there  are  the  prices  realized  from  the  sale  of  the  goods  to 
be  considered.  Certain  prices  are  put  on  goods  at  which  they  are 
supposed  to  be  sold,  and  different  prices  may  be  made  to  retailers  or 
others  from  the  figures  that  jobbers  get  them  at.  The  pressure  to  sell 
often  results  in  the  cutting  of  prices,  or,  at  any  rate,  the  making  of 
special  prices  in  special  cases;  trade  discounts  and  extra  datings  are 
given;  seconds  or  irregular  goods  are  sold  at  an  off  price;  and  then 
there  is  always  a  closing  out  of  left-over  goods  at  a  smart  loss.  The 
result  is  that  very  hazy  ideas  often  prevail  as  to  what  actual  profit 


VERIFICATION    OF    COSTS  193 

is  being  made  on  a  line  of  goods,  and  often  the  sellers  are  quite  pleased 
with  the  prices  they  are  getting,  when,  if  everything  was  considered 
and  allowed  for,  it  would  be  found  that  they  were  doing  the  business 
at  a  loss. 

The  extra  dating,  so  often  and  so  freely  given,  is  not  an  incon- 
siderable item  by  any  means,  and  helps  to  eat  quite  a  hole  in  the 
profits. 

In  the  cost  of  selling  the  goods  there  may  be  great  variation  from 
year  to  year.  The  amount  of  business  done  by  the  selling  staff,  the 
traveling  and  other  expenses,  the  salaries,  the  advertising — all  fluctuate. 
If  a  concern  is  carrying  its  own  credits,  the  losses  from  bad  debts  must 
also  be  considered. 

The  interest  account,  which  will  vary  with  the  amount  of  stock  that 
is  carried,  and  with  the  prompt  or  slow  marketing  of  goods,  is  always 
considerable  and  must  be  studied. 

Mill  expenses  will  vary  greatly,  and,  when  looms  are  being  changed 
over  constantly,  and  many  widely  varying  fabrics  are  to  be  made, 
great  sums  of  money  can  disappear  in  harnesses,  labor,  impaired  prod- 
uct, and  what  not. 

Sampling  and  designing  are  generally  grossly  underestimated  as  to 
their  cost,  and  very  few  proprietors  care  to  look  this  sampling  expense 
fairly  in  the  face.  If  they  did,  and  if  they  then  put  into  the  costs  of 
their  fancy  goods  a  proper  sum  to  pay  for  the  sampling,  they  would 
often  find  that  they  would  have  to  ask  a  price  that  the  goods  would 
not  bring.  They,  therefore,  generally  cover  the  whole  sampling  cost 
into  the  general  expense,  with  the  result  that  they  overcost  their  plain 
goods  and  undercost  their  fancies. 

At  stock-taking  time,  there  has  to  be  a  writing-off  from  the  values 
of  many  materials  at  the  mills,  and  also  a  writing-off  from  the  values 
of  stock  goods  at  the  store,  thus  further  complicating  matters. 

If  raw  materials  run  extra  coarse  or  extra  fine  in  size,  and  if 
greater  or  less  amounts  of  waste  are  made  in  the  throwing,  weaving, 
and  other  operations,  differences  will  result. 

Bad  warps  in  the  looms  cause  unforeseen  increases  in  labor  cost  and 
diminished  production,  and  inability,  at  times,  to  obtain  all  the  trained 
help  that  may  be  required  will  be  another  drawback. 

Such  calamities  as  fires,  floods,  and  strikes,  being  in  their  nature 
exceptional,  we  will  omit  from  our  consideration. 

The  proposition  before  us  is  to  keep  track  of  all  these  various  con- 
ditions from  the  selling  end,  to  have  the  record  at  all  times  in  such 
shape  as  to  show  clearly  the  conditions  prevailing,  and  to  do  this  so 
that  results  will  be  shown  automatically,  and  with  but  little  labor, 
and  all  this  without  bothering  the  regular  staff  at  either  the  mill  or  the 
store. 


194  VERIFICATION    OF    COSTS 

Necessary  Features  in  a  Proper  System  of  Control. 

The  main  features  of  a  workable  scheme  are  to  treat  the  mill  as 
a  separate  concern,  keeping  ledger  accounts  with  it  covering  weights 
and  values  of  all  materials  furnished,  and  setting  forth  all  moneys 
provided  for  various  purposes ;  the  using  of  a  standard  series  of  basic 
values  for  all  the  materials  entering  into  the  goods  during  the  period 
under  survey,  not  only  for  the  cost  calculations  but  for  the  pricing  of 
the  stock  of  materials  at  the  mill  as  well ;  and  the  figuring  of  all  weights 
and  prices  on  a  raw-silk  basis  and  not  on  a  weighted  basis. 

It  is  really  a  great  convenience  to  employ  the  same  standard  prices 
for  all  raw  materials,  year  after  year,  making,  at  the  end  of  each  cost 
calculation,  any  correction  needed  to  bring  it  in  line  with  the  prices 
of  the  day. 

Then,  there  is  the  treating  of  the  sales  department  as  another  sep- 
arate concern,  and  the  keeping  of  accounts  to  shew  how  it  exceeds,  or 
keeps  within,  its  allotted  selling  expense;  the  keeping  of  an  account 
with  each  quality  of  goods  manufactured,  so  that  every  month  the 
goods  received  and  returned,  goods  sold,  stock  on  hand,  and  the  aver- 
age price  realized  will  be  presented,  and  also  the  profit  or  loss  on  the 
sales,  as  compared  with  the  nominal  profit  that  the  regular  selling 
price  should  give,  will  be  shown. 

Furthermore,  there  must  be  an  adjustment  account  to  take  care  of 
the  fluctuations,  and  consequent  profits  or  losses,  in  the  raw  material 
purchases. 

Working  Out  of  the  System. 

We  start  with  a  mill  stock  in  various  stages  of  manufacture — raw, 
thrown,  dyed  and  of  various  weightings,  wound,  warped,  woven,  etc. 
Then  we  have  cottons,  spun  silks,  worsteds,  and  all  sorts  of  materials. 
According  to  the  work  and  uses  of  the  mill,  it  will  be  desirable  to 
separate  these  yarns  into  groups,  such  as  silk  of  this  or  that  size  for 
raw-silk  weaving,  organzine  stock,  tram  stock,  Canton  tram  stock, 
etc.,  etc. 

Purchases  may  have  been  made  of  different  grades  of  tram  stock, 
for  instance,  running  from  best  Japan  Rereels  to  No.  I  Italian,  but, 
after  all,  they  all  go  into  tram,  and  as  such  may  be  woven  indiscrimi- 
nately into  the  season's  goods,  and  if  so  they  may  all  be  priced  at  the 
same  figure  when  taking  stock. 

The  prices  put  on  the  materials  should  be  the  same  as  will  be  used 
on  the  cost  sheets  for  the  following  six  months,  and  these  prices  should 
be  what  it  is  estimated  the  average  costs  may  be  for  the  season. 

From  these  bases,  the  value  of  the  stock  at  the  mill  is  worked  out 
in  the  usual  manner,  by  the  addition  of  the  expenditures  for  labor, 
dyeing,  throwing,  etc.,  and  we  are  then  also  able  to  present  the  mill 
stock  in  the  form  of  so  many  pounds  of  such  and  such  raw  materials, 
plus  so  much  for  throwing  done  on  it,  so  much  for  dyeing  done  on  it, 


VERIFICATION    OF    COSTS  195 

and  so  much  for  mill  labor  applied  to  it,  as  well  as  its  share  of  the 
mill  expense. 

As  we  work  on  fixed  values  for  raw  materials,  and  as  the  throw- 
ster's and  dyer's  charges  may  vary  little,  if  any,  it  may  sometimes  be 
found  more  convenient  to  carry  the  raw  materials,  throwing,  and 
dyeing  in  the  one  account. 

Standard  Bases  for  Cost  Sheets. 

We  now  have  fresh  cost  sheets  made  up,  on  the  new  bases  of  raw 
material  costs,  for  all  the  qualities  in  work  at  the  mill,  and,  of  course, 
for  all  new  qualities  as  they  come  forward.  These  cost  sheets  are 
afterwards  analyzed,  and  subdivided  on  separate  sheets  into  their  sev- 
eral elements,  as  "raw  material,  throwing  and  dyeing"  (giving  raw 
weights  as  well  as  values)  ;  "allotted  labor";  "general  mill  expense"; 
"piece  dyeing,  printing,  and  finishing";  "selling  expense,"  and  cal- 
culated "profit,"  this  profit  being  based  on  the  assumed  regular  selling 
price  of  the  goods. 

By  "allotted  labor"  is  meant  the  labor  outlay,  at  so  much  a  pound 
or  yard,  directly  applied  to  the  goods ;  the  unallotted  labor,  which  in- 
cludes all  other  labor  expense,  being  covered  into  the  general  expense. 

This  "allotted  labor"  may  be  shewn  on  the  cost  analysis  slip  in  its 
separate  forms,  if  desired,  as  winding,  warping,  weaving,  etc.,  etc. 

Analysis  of  the  Cost  of  Each  Quality. 

I  present  herewith  a  cost  analysis  of  the  broad  silk  calculation 
shown  in  the  chapter  on  the  "Costing  of  Broad  Silks  and  Ribbons." 

There  is  no  need  of  making  one  for  every  calculation  made,  but 
only  for  those  from  which  goods  have  actually  been  woven. 

Records  of  Sales  and  Price  Fluctuations. 

We  now  consider  the  stock  of  goods  at  the  store.  Many  of  them 
will  be  taken  in  stock  at  their  full  value,  and  many  (even  while  the 
prices  have  not  been  broken)  at  less  than  their  nominal  value,  and 
many  styles,  which  will  not  be  made  again,  at  a  low  price  as  jobs. 

Part  of  the  essence  of  this  system  consists  in  regarding  the  nominal 
selling  price  as  a  fixed  figure  at  one  end  of  the  calculation,  just  as 
fixed  raw  material  prices  are  used  at  the  other  end,  the  prices  obtained 
for  the  goods,  above  or  below  this  limit,  showing  a  profit  or  a  loss,  thus 
adjusting  the  profit  account. 

Accounts  are  now  opened  in  a  special  loose-leaf  book — a  full  page 
or  more  for  each — with  each  quality  of  goods  in  stock  at  the  beginning 
of  the  period,  and  fresh  ones  are  opened  as  required.  All  entries  should 
be  made  by  yards,  and  the  number  of  pieces  disregarded.  Columns  for 
profits  and  losses  are  provided. 

In  these  accounts  are  then  entered  the  yards  on  hand,  at  the  store,  of 
each  kind,  and,  if  the  prices  at  which  the  goods  have  been  taken  in 
stock  are  lower  than  the  regular  asking  prices,  the  difference  will  appear 


ANALYSIS    OF    COST 


Width-jgL 

Date. 


Priced 


ITEMS 

Raw  Lbs. 
per  100 
yds. 

Cents  per  yd. 

Silk  Warp  (Inc'l  Thr'g  &  Sk.  Dy'g)  .  .  .  . 
*'     Filling.       .     .       " 

J' 

33 

6  0 

33 

Schappe  Warp  "         

Filling....      "       

Cotton  Warp  "       ... 

"      Filling  %T      ,  

rf  Warp  ...      ** 

Filling  .:      **       7...... 

Allotted  Labor  

Mill  Expense  

Dyeing,  Printing  &  Finishing  

Selling  Expense  4  .  .  ,  

Profit  Y  

/Jvv'fc^'Ht^Jt  t\^f^ny^t  

%Z£ZL  '"?*< 

^iS^  ^ 

££ 

<r* 

U^^23^   £.73                 TOTAL.... 

VERIFICATION    OF   COSTS  197 

as  a  profit  to  start  with,  as  the  nominal  asking  price  is  the  basis.  Thus, 
if  one  thousand  yards  of  quality  No.  200  were  in  stock,  the  asking  price 
of  which  was  75  cents,  and  they  were  taken  in  stock  at  65  cents,  then 
there  would  appear  in  the  profit  column  a  gain  of  $100 — being  10  cents 
a  yard  on  one  thousand  yards.  If,  subsequently,  they  were  all  sold  at 
75  cents,  the  profit  so  noted,  over  the  stock-taking  price,  would  have 
been  realized.  If  they  brought  70  cents,  a  loss  of  5  cents  a  yard,  equal 
to  $50,  would  appear  as  an  offset  in  the  loss  column,  and  if  65  cents 
was  what  they  went  for,  the  10  cents  a  yard  difference  between  that 
and  the  nominal  price  would  appear  as  a  loss,  and  exactly  offset  the 
gain  originally  figured.  In  this  way  the  confusion  arising  from  varying 
prices  put  on  goods  in  stock  is  avoided.  Claims  and  allowances  are 
entered  as  a  loss  at  their  money  value,  no  note  being  taken  of  any  yard- 
age allowance,  as  it  does  not  affect  the  stock. 

The  nominal  profits  and  losses  thus  shown  on  the  different  sheets 
are  grouped  together  each  month,  and  the  difference  is  carried  to  the 
profit  account  in  the  ledger,  where  it  stands  as  an  offset  against  the 
nominal  profit  with  which  the  mill  has  been  credited  on  the  shipments 
made. 

Invoices  of  goods  are  now  coming  forward  from  the  mills,  and  sales 
are  being  made,  with  their  accompanying  claims  and  returns.  Day  by 
days,  these  receipts,  etc.,  are  tabulated  on  special  sheets,  showing  quali- 
ties, quantities  and  prices  at  which  sold.  At  the  end  of  the  month  the 
additions  of  these  are  transferred  to  monthly  detail  sheets  and  to  the 
book  of  qualities. 

In  writing  up  the  latter,  the  receipts  from  the  mill,  and  any  goods 
returned  from  customers,  are  separately  added  to  the  stock  on  hand  at 
the  beginning  of  the  month,  and  the  sales  are  deducted,  the  net  stock 
of  every  quality  being  thus  shown  every  month.  The  sales,  in  another 
column,  are  grouped  by  prices,  and  the  average  price  is  figured  out. 
Thus,  if  the  quality  was  an  85-cent  article,  of  which  5,000  yards  had 
been  sold,  the  items  might  appear  as  1,000  yards  at  82^  cents;  1,000 
yards  at  85  cents,  less  I  per  cent.;  2,700  yards  at  85  cents;  and  300 
yards  at  87^2  cents.  In  the  loss  column  would  then  appear  the  amount 
of  1,000  yards  at  2.y2  cents,  and  1,000  yards  at  I  per  cent,  of  85  cents, 
and  in  the  profit  column  would  be  300  yards  at  2,^/2  cents.  The  2,700 
yards  sold  at  85  cents,  being  at  the  regular  price,  would  shew  in 
neither  profit  nor  loss  column.  The  price  for  the  month  would  thus 
average  84.48  cents. 

Goods  returned  are  handled  in  the  same  way.  Thus,  if  the  1,000 
yards  of  85-cent  goods,  sold  at  82^  cents,  were  returned,  they  would 
show  as  a  profit  of  2^  cents  a  yard  in  the  column  of  gains,  thus  off- 
setting the  loss  originally  laid  against  the  sale. 

Value  of  the  Records  to  the  Sales  Manager. 
The  value  of  these  records  as  a  guide  to  the  sales  management  must 


198  VERIFICATION    OF    COSTS 

be  apparent,  as  they  show,  month  by  month,  just  how  the  stock  has 
been  moving  or  accumulating;  the  proportion  of  goods  returned;  the 
volume  of  sales  and  at  what  prices ;  the  average  prices  realized  during 
the  month  and  the  average  also  of  the  sales  of  all  the  months  of  the 
period ;  the  amount  of  claims  that  had  been  allowed  on  each  line ;  and, 
above  all,  this  information  should  come  up  automatically  and  in  com- 
plete form  by,  at  the  latest,  the  third  day  of  each  month,  so  that  these 
important  matters  are  thus  brought  regularly  to  the  sales  manager's 
notice,  without  any  investigation  on  his  part. 

In  addition,  it  draws  attention  sharply  to  which  lines  of  goods  are 
most  profitable,  and  which  are  least  so,  so  that  the  manager  can  govern 
himself  accordingly. 

Tabulations  to  be  Made. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  goods  that  have  been  arriving  day  by  day 
from  the  mills  will  have  been  tabulated,  and  the  total  yardage  of  each 
quality  will,  at  the  end  of  the  month,  be  transferred  to  the  monthly 
detail  sheet  of  mill  shipments. 

Credits  for  these  shipments  will  then  be  given  the  mill  in  the  sev- 
eral ledger  accounts  which  have  been  opened.  To  properly  distribute 
the  amounts,  it  is  necessary  to  subdivide  the  cost  of  each  quality  re- 
ceived according  to  the  analysis  of  cost  for  that  quality,  and  to  work 
out  all  the  qualities,  received  during  the  month,  in  this  way  on  the  detail 
sheets. 

Thus,  if  1,000  yards  of  quality  No.  200  were  received,  valued  at  75 
cents,  gross  selling  price,  per  yard,  we  would  turn  to  the  analysis  of 
that  quality  and,  multiplying,  by  1,000,  each  of  the  amounts  set  down 
for  raw  material,  throwing  and  dyeing,  allotted  labor,  general  mill  ex- 
penses, piece  dyeing,  printing  or  finishing,  selling  expense,  and  profit, 
we  would  enter  these  amounts  under  their  several  columns,  the  total 
aggregating  1,000  times  75  cents,  or  $750.  The  raw  weight  of  the  ma- 
terials should  also  be  entered  in  separate  columns. 

How  the  Figures  are  Handled  in  the  Ledger. 

The  additions  of  these  columns  are  next  transferred  to  the  ledger 
accounts.  When,  for  instance,  on  the  account  for  allotted  labor,  the 
mill  is  credited  with  the  amount  represented  by  that  element  in  the 
month's  shipments,  it  will,  on  the  other  hand,  be  charged  with  the 
money  furnished  for  that  part  of  its  payroll  which  applies  to  such  labor. 

It  is  true  that  the  labor  in  the  shipments  received  is  not  the  same 
labor  as  just  then  paid  for  in  the  payroll,  but  it  averages  up  as  the 
weeks  and  months  succeed  each  other. 

This  allotted  labor  may  be  divided  into  its  different  classes,  and  it 
is  desirable  that  this  be  done,  as  it  enables  exact  comparisons  to  be  made 
with  what  the  payroll  should  have  been  for  the  goods  made  (as  worked 
out  from  the  cost  sheets),  and  what  it  actually  is. 


VERIFICATION   OF   COSTS  199 

Prompt  Ascertainment  of  Discrepancies. 

This  is  of  great  importance,  for,  if  there  is  a  serious  difference,  it 
can  be  detected  and  stopped  while  there  is  yet  time  to  remedy  it,  instead 
of  only  learning  it  a  month  or  two  after  the  books  have  been  closed  at 
the  end  of  the  season. 

An  excess  outlay,  over  the  calculation  figures,  may  be  due  to  some 
temporary  and  non-recurrent  cause ;  or  it  may  be  some  leakage,  or  rob- 
bery through  the  payroll,  or  what  not,  which  can  be  investigated  and 
stopped;  or  it  may  be,  and  usually  is,  an  actual  undercosting  on  the 
cost  calculation  sheets,  which,  when  the  errors  are  thus  brought  to 
light,  will  then  be  corrected  to  conform  to  the  facts. 

It  may  also  be  that  goods  have  been  overcosted,  and  that  business 
is  being  declined  which,  if  the  real  costs  were  known,  would  be  ac- 
cepted. The  demonstration  of  this  is  also  most  important. 

Apportioning  the  General  Expense. 

In  the  general  expense  account  in  the  ledger,  the  mill  will  be  like- 
wise credited  for  this  item,  with  its  proper  share  of  the  value  of  the 
goods  received :  on  the  other  hand,  it  will  be  charged  with  outlays  for 
unallotted  labor,  supplies,  mill  maintenance,  salaries,  and  expenses  of 
all  kinds,  together  with  the  monthly  portion  of  such  overhead  charges 
as  insurance,  taxes,  depreciation  of  plant,  interest  on  capital,  etc. 

The  general  expense  outlay  can  be  subdivided  to  any  extent  de- 
sired, and  the  more  it  can  be  shown  in  detail,  the  more  useful  the  Rec- 
ord will  be. 

Raw  Materials,  and  Work  Done  on  Commission. 

In  the  raw  material  column  will  appear  the  amounts  paid  out  for 
raw-silk,  cotton,  etc.,  and  with  these,  if  desired,  may  be  included  the 
charges  for  throwing  and  dyeing ;  credits  against  goods  received  are 
made  on  the  other  side  of  the  account. 

The  throwing  and  dyeing  accounts  can  also  be  handled  separately, 
if  preferred. 

The  piece  dyeing,  printing  and  finishing  accounts  are  treated  in 
similar  fashion.  Claims  made  on  the  firms  doing  such  work  should  also 
be  entered  up,  as  they  form  an  offset  to  allowances  which  would  doubt- 
less appear  in  the  sales  sheets  against  the  goods  so  damaged,  etc. 

Analysing  the  Selling  Expense. 

The  selling  expense  account  will  be  charged  with  customer's  dis- 
count, both  regular  and  for  any  extra  time  allowed ;  with  the  discount 
for  any  extra  days'  time  that  the  commission  house  exacts,  under  pre- 
tense of  time  taken  in  making  collections ;  all  expenses,  salaries,  com- 
missions to  salesmen  and  to  department  manager ;  traveling  expenses ; 
any  advertising  expenses ;  and  any  charges  in  addition,  necessitated  by 
the  merchandising  of  the  goods,  no  matter  how  or  where  incurred. 


200  VERIFICATION    OF   COSTS 

Interest  on  Stock  a  Selling  Expense. 

As  all  sales  managers  will  protest  that  they  cannot  do  business  with 
empty  shelves,  and  as  the  underlying  stock  that  they  seem  to  require 
may  amount  to  one  or  two  months'  product  of  the  mill,  it  follows  that, 
as  the  mill  has  got  to  furnish  the  money  to  provide  these  stock  facilities, 
the  interest  on  the  average  amount  of  unsold  stock  carried  is  properly 
chargeable  to  the  sales  department,  and  should  be  so  apportioned. 

If  sales  managers  were  rigorously  compelled  to  stand  this  interest 
charge  as  part  of  their  expense,  many  of  them  would  be  slower  about 
ordering  goods  for  stock. 

To  the  credit  of  the  selling  expense  account  will  be  placed  the  15 
per  cent.,  or  other  percentage,  allowed  on  the  calculation,  as  figured  out 
on  the  monthly  detail  sheets. 

Losses  from  Bad  Debts. 

If  a  mill  is  carrying  its  own  credits,  losses  in  connection  with  bad 
debts  must  be  provided  for,  and  this  is  a  charge  against  the  selling 
expense. 

Such  losses  and  expenses  may  be  charged  to  the  sales  department 
as  they  occur,  but  a  preferable  way  is  to  charge  on  all  sales,  as  an  offset 
for  bad  debts,  such  a  percentage  as  experience  has  shown  to  be  rea- 
sonable, and  to  carry  this  to  a  sinking  fund  to  make  the  losses  good 
when  they  do  occur. 

•  Calculated  Profits. 

The  profit  account  carries  on  one  side  the  calculated  profits  on  the 
monthly  mill  shipments,  and,  on  the  other  side,  the  losses  or  gains 
(nearly  always  losses)  shown  by  the  individual  quality  sheets,  thus 
showing  the  real  profit  if  the  cost  sheets  are  otherwise  correct.  For 
this  reason,  it  is  apparent  that  the  selling  prices  affixed  to  the  different 
qualities  cannot,  if  priced  too  high  or  too  low,  affect  the  result.  If  too 
high,  and  thus  showing  a  larger  nominal  profit  on  the  shipments,  the 
profit  will  be  cut  down  by  whatever  the  goods  sell  below  their  nominal 
prices,  as  shown  on  the  quality  sheets  in  the  form  of  losses  on  sales ; 
and,  conversely,  if  the  prices  have  been  made  too  low. 

Raw  Material  Adjustment  Accounts. 

Then,  there  is  the  raw  material  adjustment  account,  and  pages  are 
provided  for  silk,  cotton,  schappe,  etc.  Purchases  are  entered  here,  and 
the  amounts  above  or  below  the  calculation  base  prices  are  entered  in 
loss  and  gain  columns.  Charges  for  interest  appearing  on  bills,  for 
time  silk  has  been  carried,  go  into  the  loss  column. 

Unfilled  contracts  are  not  entered  in  these  accounts,  but  only  goods 
which  have  been  actually  delivered. 

The  differences  between  the  loss  and  gain  columns  of  these  raw 
material  accounts,  when  grouped,  represents  the  correction  to  be  made, 


VERIFICATION    OF    COSTS  201 

in  the  result  of  the  season's  manufacturing  operations,  for  losses  or 
gains  due  to  market  fluctuations. 

Excess  Labor  Costs  Due  to  Poor  Materials. 

It  might  also  be  proper  to  have  the  mill  report  any  excess  labor 
costs,  or  other  losses,  due  to  inferior  raw  material,  and  carry  this  as  a 
loss  into  the  raw  material  adjustment  account,  for,  if  better,  and  pre- 
sumably dearer,  silk  had  been  furnished,  the  losses  would  not  have 
occurred,  and  such  losses  should  not  be  melted  in  with  the  mill's  ordi- 
nary expenses. 

Clearances  of  the  Weights. 

The  calculated  raw  weights  of  goods  received  are  also  entered  to 
the  credit  of  the  mill,  and  the  actual  weight  of  each  kind  of  material 
sent  is  charged  against  it,  each  class  being  kept  separate. 

The  assembling  of  all  these  figures  will  show,  at  the  end  of  every 
month,  the  total  raw  weights  of  each  sort  of  material  that  should  be  at 
the  mill,  being  the  result  of  adding  to  the  stock  on  hand  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  period,  the  raw  weights  of  all  materials  sent  there  since, 
and  the  deducting  of  the  calculated  raw  weights  of  the  goods  received, 
allowing  also  for  the  standard  percentages  calculated  for  waste. 

If  these  waste  allowances  have  been  on  the  conservative  side,  the 
mill  stock  should  show  a  little  gain  over  the  calculation. 

Value  of  Stock  Always  Ascertainable. 

There  will  also  be  shown  the  total  value  of  the  stock  at  the  mill,  each 
month,  this  being  the  value  of  the  initial  stock  plus  the  raw  material 
sent,  the  throwing  and  dyeing  paid  for,  and  the  value  of  the  labor 
applied  to  the  same,  during  the  month,  together  with  the  proper  appor- 
tionment of  overhead  and  other  expenses,  from  which  will  be  deducted 
the  mill-cost  value  of  the  goods  received  from  the  mills  during  the 
period. 

The  stock  at  the  store,  of  each  quality  of  goods,  will  be  shown,  as 
well  as  how  the  goods  have  been  moving,  and  the  average  prices  they 
have  been  fetching. 

Actual  and  Calculated  Expenditures. 

Then,  there  will  be  presented  the  differences  between  the  various 
outlays  for  mill  account,  and  what  they  should  have  been  if  in  line 
with  the  cost  calculations,  as  figured  against  the  goods  shipped  in. 

Other  Losses,  Profits,  and  Expenses  Shown. 

On  raw  material  purchases  there  will  be  shown  the  losses  and  gains 
made  during  the  period. 

The  actual  cost  of  selling  the  goods  will  be  shown,  and  in  detail,  as 
compared  with  the  percentage  apportioned  for  this  work. 

The  proportion  of  the  calculated  profits  actually  realized  is  set  fortfy 


202  VERIFICATION    OF    COSTS 

and  the  actual  gain  or  loss  on  each  of  the  qualities  and  styles  can  also 
be  segregated  if  desired. 

Transfer  of  Records  to  Ledger. 

The  various  accounts  can  now  be  drawn  off  from  the  ledger,  and  a 
balance  struck,  which  will  represent  the  profit  or  loss  resulting  from 
the  month's  operations. 

Theoretically,  if  the  cost  calculations  had  been  absolutely  true,  each 
expense  made  for  mill  or  store  account  should,  in  time,  be  exactly  bal- 
anced by  the  goods  received,  etc,  and  the  profit  should  stand  alone  as 
the  only  unbalanced  factor. 

Such,  of  course,  could  never  be  the  case,  but,  by  this  means  of  pre- 
sentation, every  profit  and  every  loss  entering  into  the  total  of  the  re- 
sults is  seen  at  a  glance,  and  any  serious  discrepancy  can  at  once  be 
inquired  into. 

Full  Detailed  Exhibit  Each  Month. 

As  this  is  done  each  and  every  month,  anything  seriously  wrong  will 
be  promptly  noted  and  rectified,  while  ordinarily  it  might  have  gone  on 
unperceived  for  any  length  of  time. 

With  these  figures  carefully  made,  and  all  tabulations  and  accounts 
kept  right  up  to  date,  it  should  be  possible  to  tell  at  the  end  of  each 
month  very  near  to  what  figures  the  books  should  close  at,  and  with- 
out taking  stock  either  at  the  mill  or  in  the  store. 

Writing-off  at  Stock-taking. 

These  figures  will  be  modified,  at  stock-taking  time,  by  whatever 
amounts  the  management  decides  to  write  off  the  values  of  the  stock  at 
the  mill,  and  the  goods  in  the  store. 

Differences  to  be  Adjusted. 

Some  differences  will,  of  course,  exist,  due  to  varying  sizes  of  raw 
materials  and  fluctuating  amounts  of  waste,  but  they  should  not  run 
into  large  figures. 

Should  any  great  differences  be  found,  when  the  accounts  are  made 
up,  they  can  be  easily  and  accurately  located  by  this  method  of  analysis. 

Some  questions  of  detail  may  arise,  such  as  when  unfinished  goods 
are  sent  in  by  the  mill,  and  which  undergo  some  change  in  length  in  the 
finishing;  but,  with  a  little  thought,  adjustments  can  be  readily  made  to 
cover  such  cases. 

Control  of  Records  from  Sales  Department. 

It  will  be  observed  that  all  of  these  analyses,  records,  and  deductions 
can  be  made  from  the  market  end  of  the  business  just  as  well  as  at  the 
mills,  and  made,  too,  without  having  to  put  a  question  to  the  mill,  ex- 
cept when  explanations  of  discrepancies  had  to  be  asked  for. 


VERIFICATION   OF   COSTS  203 

Cost  of  Keeping  Up  the  System. 

Each  mill  will  have  its  own  methods  and  peculiarities,  and  most 
mills  will,  no  doubt,  have  devised  systems  which  seem  fairly  to  meet 
their  requirements.  The  writer,  however,  knows  of  none  so  good  as 
the  one  here  set  forth.  While  there  is  quite  a  little  preliminary  work 
to  do  in  getting  up  the  forms  and  blanks,  and  starting  the  accounts,  the 
labor  required  to  keep  it  going  is  most  moderate. 

This  labor  cost  is  small,  as  the  tabulations,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  mill,  can  be  made  by  one  or  two,  (and,  in  very  big  mills,  perhaps 
more)  young  men  or  women,  at  a  cost  of,  perhaps,  from  $7.00  to 
$10.00  a  week  each. 

Then,  the  work  of  some  one  in  the  office,  of  greater  experience,  will 
be  needed  for  two  or  three  days  at  the  bginning  of  each  month,  to  ap- 
portion the  expenses,  work  out  the  amounts,  and  post  the  figures  into 
the  ledger,  as  well  as  figuring  out  the  sales,  etc.,  on  the  quality  sheets, 
and  drawing  off  the  monthly  balance. 

Whatever  the  labor  required,  it  is  a  very  small  matter  when  the 
importance  of  the  reports  that  it  produces  is  considered. 

I  recommend  this  method  to  the  careful  study  of  anyone  who  is 
interested. 


XVII 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  RELATIVE  COSTS  OF  PLAIN  AND 

FANCY  GOODS. 


When  a  mill  is  engaged  in  the  production  of  fabrics  of  widely 
differing  character,  the  question  as  to  what  is  the  real  cost  of  each 
of  the  various  lines  of  goods  is  one  of  the  greatest  moment.  The 
success  of  the  business  will  be,  in  a  great  measure,  dependent  upon 
a  correct  solution  of  this  problem,  for,  when  goods  are  costed  un- 
duly high,  business  with  a  profit  in  it  may  be  declined,  while,  for 
such  goods  as  are  costed  too  low,  an  actual  loss  may  be  made,  when 
all  the  time  the  manufacturer  thinks  he  is  making  money  on  them. 

Different  Elements  of  Cost. 

The  elements  of  cost,  entering  into  woven  silk  fabrics,  are  the 
raw  materials,  together  with  the  preparation  of  the  same — throwing, 
dyeing,  etc. ;  the  applied  labor  such  as  winding,  warping,  beam- 
ing, quilling,  twisting,  weaving,  picking,  cleaning,  etc.;  the  de- 
signing and  pattern  expenses ;  the  finishing,  piece  dyeing,  or  printing ; 
and  the  general  expenses,  which  include  interest,  depreciation,  power, 
light  and  heat,  clerk  hire,  miscellaneous  labor,  expenses  of  manage- 
ment, mill  supplies,  taxes,  insurance,  and  a  host  of  other  things. 

Many  of  these  items  are  quite  easily  apportioned,  but  the  proper 
allotment  of  some  of  them  is  a  most  difficult  and  puzzling  matter. 
What  makes  the  matter  more  serious  is  that  correct  estimates  in  these 
matters  have  to  be  made  in  advance  of  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
the  goods. 

A  mill  may  be  making  plain  or  figured  piece-dyes,  plain  yarn- 
dyed  fabrics,  ordinary  simple  fancies  such  as  stripes,  checks,  barres, 
etc.,  or  novelty  goods  running  all  the  way  from  plaids  to  printed  warp, 
tinsel  filled,  brocades. 


COSTS  OF  PLAIN  AND  FANCY  GOODS  205 

The  market  prices  on  most  lines  of  goods  of  large  general  sale 
are  fixed  by  the  quotations  of  big  mills  which  specialize  on  them,  and 
it  may  well  be  that  a  moderate  sized  mill,  by  too  great  a  diversifica- 
tion of  its  product,  may  so  increase  the  cost  of  all  its  goods  that  in 
no  direction  can  it  compete  successfully. 

Subdivision  of  Expenses. 

In  an  analysis  of  expense,  one  of  the  first  steps  to  take  is  a  care- 
ful subdivision  of  the  expenditures  by  departments.  Thus,  the  money 
paid  out  for  the  winding  processes  will  be  kept  separate,  and  this 
will  include  the  foreman  and  assistants,  bobbin  carriers,  etc.,  etc.,  in 
addition,  of  course,  to  the  wages  paid  for  the  actual  winding.  Any 
transferring  can  be  included  here  also. 

The  quilling  will  be  handled  in  the  same  manner  and  any  doubling 
can  be  included  with  it. 

The  warping  and  beaming  can  be  taken  together  or  separately, 
according  to  the  practice  of  the  mill,  but  the  sample  warping  should 
not  be  here  included. 

Into  the  twisting  and  entering  department  expenses  will  go,  to- 
gether with  the  regular  wages,  all  work  done  in  connection  with 
the  care  of  the  reeds  and  harnesses,  the  reeding,  back-reed  making, 
etc.,  etc.  Work  done  for  sampling,  always  a  big  item  in  this  depart- 
ment, should  be  recorded  separately. 

The  harness  building,  French,  English,  or  Jacquard,  can  be 
treated  also  as  a  department  if  desired. 

With  the  weaving  outlay  will  go  the  salaries  of  loom  fixers  and 
foremen,  shuttle  fixers,  etc.,  etc. 

The  designing  and  pattern  department  will  include  the  designers, 
card  cutters,  lacers,  etc.,  and  here  may  also  be  included  the  wages  of 
pattern  weavers,  and  the  warping,  twisting,  and  other  expenses  in- 
cidental to  sample  work. 

The  labor  in  connection  with  the  picking,  clipping,  and  cleaning 
of  the  pieces  can  be  also  combined,  and  the  examining,  measuring, 
folding,  recording,  weighing  and  shipping  of  the  goods  may  be 
treated  as  another  department. 

Relation  of  Equipment  to  Labor  Cost. 

It  is  well,  also,  to  have  all  the  expenses  for  supplies,  repairs  and 
maintenance,  charged  to  the  respective  departments  for  which  they 
have  been  incurred,  as  such  expenses  have  a  very  intimate  connection 
with  the  labor  costs;  a  false  economy  in  the  upkeep  of  the  ma- 
chinery, or  in  the  quantity  or  character  of  the  supplies  furnished, 
may  mean  a  heavy  addition  to  the  wages  in  many  directions. 

These  records  can  be  written  up  fortnightly,  or  at  whatever  inter- 
vals coincide  with  the  pay  days. 

Then,  by  preparing  a  record  of  the  yardage  of  each  class  of  goods 
woven  during  the  pay,  and  by  figuring  out  for  each  department  the 


206  COSTS  OF  PLAIN  AND  FANCY  GOODS 

amounts  called  for  on  the  cost  sheets  for  such  work,  it  can  be  seen, 
with  approximate  correctness,  from  period  to  period,  whether  the  pay 
roll  is  exceeding  the  estimate  in  any  direction,  and,  if  so,  prompt  in- 
vestigation can  be  made. 

Departmental  Costs. 

It  is  desirable  to  figure  up  against  each  department  its  proper  pro- 
portion of  the  overhead  expenses,  such  as  a  charge  for  space  occupied, 
power,  heat  and  light  used,  insurance,  depreciation,  superintendence, 
and  what  not.  This  is  seldom  done  but  it  gives  most  valuable  in- 
formation. 

For  instance,  if  the  total  amount  of  the  warping  cost  for  such 
goods  as  were  being  made  was  arrived  at  in  this  way,  and  if  this 
cost  was  found  to  be  higher  than  what  commission  warpers  in  the 
vicinity  were  willing  to  do  the  work  for,  and  do  it  well,  the  inference 
would  be  obvious  that  too  much  was  being  paid  out  in  some  direc- 
tions, and  inquiries,  looking  to  greater  economy,  would  be  instituted. 

If,  however,  the  cost  could  not  be  reduced,  then  most  of  the  work 
might  be  sent  outside  to  be  done,  and  the  space  devoted  to  warping 
could  be  put  to  some  more  profitable  use. 

Apportionment  of  Plain  and  Fancy  Goods  Expenses. 

In  properly  dividing  the  expenses  between  the  plain  and  fancy 
goods,  one  is  confronted  by  the  fact  that  their  relative  proportions 
are  not  constant,  but  are  fluctuating  all  the  time  and  often  greatly. 

The  records  of  the  preceding  years  must  therefore  be  consulted 
with  a  view  to  arriving  at  an  average,  and,  if  no  guide  is  to  be 
had,  some  basis  must  be  assumed  as  a  working  hypothesis,  to  be  cor- 
rected later  in  the  light  of  actual  experience. 

We  will  assume  that  a  mill  has  500  looms,  and  that  100  are  run- 
ning on  grege  warp  fabrics  for  piece  dye,  200  on  yarn  dyed  plain 
goods,  25  on  simple  stripes  and  checks,  and  175  on  Jacquard  fancies. 
All  but  the  Jacquard  fancies  we  will  therefore  consider  as  the  plain 
goods  end  of  the  business. 

As  the  plain  goods  are  always  the  most  competitive,  having  the 
largest  sale,  and  earning  the  smallest  profits,  it  is  therefore  neces- 
sary to  find  out  just  what  they  would  cost  to  make  if  not  intertwined 
with  the  fancies,  and  then  to  charge  them  with  this  amount  only,  the 
remainder  of  the  expenses  going  on  the  novelties. 

Different  Methods  of  Apportionment. 

Two  view  points  can  here  be  taken.  The  organization  may  be 
considered  as  two  separate  mills  of  325  and  175  looms  respectively, 
and  the  expenses  can  be  worked  out  on  that  basis,  or  the  expenses  may 
be  figured  on  the  assumption  that  the  whole  500  looms  might  run  on 
plain  goods,  and  the  pro  rata  amount  of  this  be  assigned  to  the  325 
looms  actually  so  running,  the  fancies  being  charged  with  all  of  the 


COSTS  OF  PLAIN  AND  FANCY  GOODS  207 

difference  between  that  and  the  actual  expense.  The  latter  method 
will  make  the  expense  on  the  plain  goods  less  and  on  the  fancies 
more. 

Proceeding  on  the  first  method,  let  us  see  what  expenses  are 
entailed  upon  the  business  that  would  not  be  if  no  fancies  were  made. 

Expenditures  Necessitated  by  the  Production  of  Fancy  Goods. 

The  organization  being  more  complex  and  the  manufacturing 
problems  more  difficult,  it  follows  that  the  manager  should  be  a  man 
of  unusually  large  experience  and  of  exceptional  judgment.  Such  a 
man  will  cost  more  money  than  an  ordinary  man.  Thus,  if  the  mill 
were  on  plain  goods,  a  satisfactory  manager  might  be  hired  for  $3,000 
a  year,  equal  to  $6.00  a  loom.  With  the  novelty  end  of  the  business 
to  be  looked  after,  a  proper  man  might  cost  $5,000  a  year.  Hence, 
the  175  fancy  looms  should  not  only  be  charged  $6.00  a  year  each— or 
$1,050.00 — on  this  account,  but  should  also  carry  the  additional  $2,000 
a  year  entailed  by  the  necessity  of  a  higher  priced  man. 

The  manager  will  generally  need  the  assistance  of  an  expert  on 
fabric  construction — a  man  with  taste  and  ingenuity — whose  business 
it  largely  is  to  create  new  fabrics  and  evolve  ideas,  to  direct  the 
designing  department,  and  to  see  that  such  designs  and  patterns  as 
are  brought  forward  are  such  as  will  weave  well  in  the  looms.  In 
most  cases  the  service  of  such  a  man — and  he  would  not  be  a  cheap 
man  by  any  means — would  not  be  required  were  it  not  for  the  fancy 
goods.  Therefore  these  goods  should  carry  all  or  most  of  this  ex- 
pense. 

Pattern  Work  and  Harness  Expenses. 

The  designing  department  entails  a  huge  expense.  There  are 
sketches  to  be  made,  and  many  are  purchased  outside.  Then,  these 
are  to  be  painted  in  on  the  design  paper.  The  cards  must  be  cut,  laced 
and  wired,  and  many  sets  have  to  be  repeated. 

The  necessary  Jacquard  harnesses  have  to  be  built  in  the  looms, 
and  there  are  constant  repairs  to  be  made  to  these  harnesses,  and 
changes  to  be  made  in  the  tie-ups,  and  the  loss  of  the  time  that  these 
looms  are  so  stopped  must  be  considered. 

An  immense  amount  of  pattern  weaving  has  to  be  done,  with  its 
great  attendant  expense  for  warping,  twisting,  drawing-in,  and  loom 
mounting  and  fixing.  The  quantity  of  material  used  up  in  this  way 
is  also  most  considerable. 

The  labor  cost  is  further  increased  by  the  fact  that  a  loom-fixer 
cannot  care  for  more  than  half  or  two-thirds  the  number  of  fancy 
looms  that  he  could  of  plain  looms. 

Costs  in  Connection  ivith  Printed  Warps. 

If  printed  warps  are  made,  there  is  the  cost  of  the  preliminary 
weaving  in  of  the  binding  picks  every  yard  or  so  to  preserve  the 


2o8  COSTS  OF  PLAIN  AND  FANCY  GOODS 

pattern,  and,  apart  from  the  cost  of  the  process,  there  is  the  expense 
of  these  looms  to  be  allowed  for  when  they  are  taken  off  their  reg- 
ular productive  work  for  this  purpose.  This  should  be  figured  in 
the  cost  calculation,  along  with  the  other  expenses  attendant  upon 
the  warp  printing,  but  is  very  often  overlooked. 

Loom  Stoppage,  Sampling  Material,  and  Waste. 

The  loss  from  the  stoppage  of  fancy  looms  for  necessary  changes 
is  most  serious.  Jacquard  looms  must  stand  while  warps  are  being 
twisted  in,  and  the  harnesses,  and  Jacquard  machines,  are  always  in 
need  of  some  attention,  and,  of  course,  at  such  times  the  looms  stand. 
The  amount  of  money  that  has  also  to  be  spent  for  cords,  threads, 
lingoes,  mails,  compass  boards,  etc.,  etc.,  is  very  great. 

Fancy  sampling  requires  the  having  on  hand,  and  the  constant 
purchasing  of,  small  lots  of  silk  and  other  materials  of  a  wide  variety 
of  kinds.  The  bulk  of  these  lie  dead  in  the  stock  afterward,  eat  up 
interest,  and  give  constant  trouble  in  connection  with  their  storage, 
handling,  and  recording. 

The  amount  of  waste  made  in  fancies  far  exceeds  the  percentages 
on  the  plain  goods,  and  the  increased  complications  of  the  business 
make  it  more  difficult  to  follow  up  and  record  all  the  wastes,  with  the 
consequent  effect  that,  as  less  exactness  of  control  is  possible,  the 
waste  on  the  plain  goods  also  has  a  tendency  to  grow  to  greater  pro- 
portions than  it  should. 

Other  Causes  of  Increased  Expense. 

In  every  mill  there  are  many  general  employees  such  as  carpenters, 
machinists,  shuttle  fixers,  bobbin  boys  and  girls,  sweepers,  etc.,  etc. 
The  pay  of  all  those  people  whose  employment  is  the  direct  result  of 
the  fancy  business  should  be  charged  to  that  branch,  and  also  the 
proper  proportion  of  the  other  labor  that  would  have  to  be  employed. 

In  getting  out  a  novelty  production  there  has  to  be  much  con- 
ference between  store  and  mill,  and  if  the  two  are  at  some  distance 
apart  the  travelling  expense  account  bulks  up  into  a  large  item  and 
must  be  taken  notice  of  and  properly  apportioned. 

Where  a  lot  of  highly  paid  Jacquard  weavers  are  weaving  in  the 
same  mill  as  people  on  plain  goods,  the  latter  cannot  see  why  they 
should  not  be  allowed  to  earn  as  much  as  the  others,  and  the  difficulty 
of  getting  the  plain  goods  woven  at  a  low  cost  is  much  increased. 
This  is  an  expense  that  can  hardly  be  loaded  on  the  fancies,  but  it  is 
often  a  very  real  and  a  very  large  one. 

The  orders  for  fancies  are  of  a  scattering  nature,  and  many  are 
the  warps  that  must  be  made  and  twisted  that  are  shorter  than  the 
average  upon  which  the  calculations  are  based.  This  additional  out- 
lay should  be  examined  into  and  allowed  for,  and  it  is  by  no  means 
small. 


COSTS  OF  PLAIN  AND  FANCY  GOODS  209 

How  Necessary  Equipment  Increases  Overhead  Charges. 

A  fancy  loom  requires  more  space  than  a  plain  one.  As  two  or 
more  beam  work  is  to  be  expected  the  floor  space  alloted  must  be 
greater,  and,  for  Jacquards,  considerable  head  room  is  needed,  to- 
gether with  the  timbering  to  support  the  machines.  These  things  in- 
crease the  size  of  the  building  that  must  be  provided,  and  add  to  the 
cost  of  the  goods  in  greater  interest  and  depreciation  charges,  and 
more  expense  for  heating,  lighting,  cleaning,  etc. 

Much  special  machinery  is  also  required,  such  as  card  cutting,  lac- 
ing, and  repeating  machines,  etc.,  and  these  must  be  charged  with 
their  interest,  depreciation,  and  upkeep.  The  space  used  by  the  de- 
signing, sampling,  and  card  cutting  departments  should  also  be 
charged  for,  as  well  as  the  heating  and  lighting  of  the  same. 

As  the  fancy  looms  generally  require  more  power  to  run  them 
than  plain  looms,  and  as  the  special  machinery  connected  with  fancy 
work  also  takes  power,  a  reasonable  amount  should  be  charged  for 
this  added  expense. 

A  large  amount  of  space  is  required  for  the  storage  of  Jacquard 
cards,  and  much  labor  is  needed  in  connection  with  the  handling  of 
them.  See  that  these  expenses  are  duly  tabulated  and  charged  for. 

All  these  things  make  quite  a  long  list,  and  in  each  mill  there  will 
be  still  other  things  to  provide  for. 

Presenting  the  Expenses  on  the  Cost  Sheets. 

The  annual  outlay  for  expenses  in  connection  with  the  fancy  goods 
having  been  segregated,  the  question  arises  as  to  how  it  should  be 
apportioned  on  the  cost  sheets. 

Some  manufacturers  try  to  determine  what  the  expenditure  for 
patterns  and  sampling  has  been,  and  then  charge  on  the  cost  sheets 
what  they  think  right  for  this  item  (a  very  uncertain  matter)  and  put 
the  rest  of  the  outlay  into  the  general  expense.  Others  let  the  general 
expense  carry  all  of  the  pattern  and  sampling  costs. 

The  outlay  for  entering,  twisting,  etc.,  in  a  mill,  particularly  in 
a  fancy  mill,  always  greatly  exceeds  the  calculation  figures.  A  con- 
venient method  of  handling  this  matter  is  to  take  the  yardage  produced 
in  a  year,  see  how  many  300  yard  warps  this  would  make  (if  that  is 
the  basis  of  figuring) ;  culculate  the  average  ends  per  warp,  and  then 
figure  what  this  would  represent  in  twisting.  Subtract  this  from  the 
amount  actually  paid  out  and  carry  the  remainder  into  the  general 
expense. 

Allotment  of  Expenses  per  Loom. 

Having  ascertained  the  total  sum  of  the  expense  for  the  fancy 
looms,  and  experience  showing  the  average  production  to  be  expected 
from  them,  the  sum  to  be  made  up  may  be  divided  among  them  pro 
rata,  or  some  differences  may  be  made  according  to  the  width  and 


210  COSTS  OF  PLAIN  AND  FANCY  GOODS 

character  of  the  looms,  but,  however  allotted,  the  total  amount  figured 
for  expense  must  equal  the  total  outlay. 

Cancellations,  Interest  Charges,  and  Production. 

Not  to  be  overlooked  is  the  fact  that  fancy  goods  are  very  subject 
to  cancellation  for  late  delivery,  or  on  other  grounds,  and  seconds 
are  plentiful,  and  mistakes  in  colors  and  patterns  are  not  unknown. 
Very  considerable  losses  must  be  expected  from  these  causes,  and  the 
profit  asked  on  the  goods  must  be  sufficiently  liberal  to  offset  them. 

In  making  goods  for  piece  dye,  as  the  material  comes  into  the  shape 
of  finished  merchandise  much  more  quickly  than  does  the  skein  dye, 
there  is  quite  a  saving  of  the  expense  for  interest. 

Where  the  work  runs  plain  and  steady,  shuttles  with  extra  long 
cops  or  quills  can  be  used,  thus  helping  the  production.  This  is  not 
of  so  much  moment  with  the  fancies. 

To  make  all  these  necessary  tabulations,  and  to  keep  the  records 
posted  up,  takes  some  clerical  help,  but  any  necessary  expenditure  in 
this  direction  is  money  well  spent. 

Daily  Expense  to  be  Borne  by  Each  Loom. 

When  the  amount  that  the  fancies  must  earn  has  been  determined, 
it  should  be  subtracted  from  the  total  expense  and  the  remainder  dis- 
tributed among  the  plain  looms. 

According  to  the  size  of  the  plant,  the  nature  of  the  work,  and 
the  manner  in  which  the  product  is  kept  sold  up,  it  will  probably  be 
found  that,  on  a  basis  of  running  full,  the  daily  amount  that  each  plain 
loom  will  have  to  earn  to  pay  its  share  of  the  expense  will  be  from  45 
to  75  cents,  and  the  fancies  may  have  to  earn  from  $1.00  to  $1.50  per 
day. 

Continuous  full  running,  however,  is  not  to  be  expected,  and  to 
these  figures,  when  arrived  at,  should  be  added  such  reasonable  per- 
centage as  would  cover  the  average  limitation  of  production  that  must 
be  expected. 

This  sort  of  an  analysis  should  be  made  year  after  year,  and  in 
time  it  will  result  in  a  very  correct  knowledge  of  what  the  expense  of 
running  each  loom  really  is. 

If  manufacturers  really  appreciated  what  an  expense  their  fancy 
goods  production  entails  upon  them,  there  would  be  fewer  of  them 
making  fancies  and  more  of  them  making  money. 


XVIII 

THE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  MILLS  AND  THEIR 
OPERATIVES. 


No  producing  industries  are  more  complex  in  their  organization 
than  textile  mills,  and  in  none  is  a  higher  general  average  of  skill  re- 
quired, if  a  full  production  of  perfect  goods  is  to  be  obtained. 

Difficulty  of  Creating  a  Mill  Organization. 

To  get  together  a  first-class  force  in  a  good-sized  mill  will  take 
years,  during  which  time  an  endless  sifting  and  weeding  out  process 
is  going  on  in  every  department,  involving  troubles  and  annoyances  of 
the  most  temper-trying  kind,  many  imperfect  goods,  and  immense 
waste  of  time,  wages,  and  material. 

That  such  organizations  are  finally  got  together  speaks  volumes 
for  the  knowledge  and  patience  of  the  mill  superintendents,  and  it  is 
largely  owing  to  the  realization  of  what  it  means  to  have  created 
such  a  force,  and  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be  broken  up  and  scat- 
tered in  case  the  mill  does  not  have  steady  work  and  first-class  ma- 
terials, that  manufacturers  are  so  insistent  with  their  market  repre- 
sentatives to  supply  them  with  advance  orders  at  almost  any  price, 
and  which  leads  them  so  frequently  to  manufacture  goods  for  stock 
when  orders  cannot  be  had,  so  as  to  keep  the  people  together,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  they  fully  realize  the  risk  that  they  are  running  of 
heavy  losses  on  the  stock  goods. 

Losing  Good  Help  a  Serious  and  Expensive  Matter. 

Good  all-round  operatives  of  any  kind,  are  not  created  in  a  day  or 

a  year.    When,  following  a  strike  or  a  complete  or  partial  shut-down, 

many  of  the  old  and  experienced  hands  have  drifted  away  and  it  is 

necessary  to  employ  relatively  inexperienced  ones  or  to  break  in  learn- 


212  MILLS   AND    THEIR    OPERATIVES 

ers,  it  may  well  be  that  in  a  few  weeks  or  months,  as  the  case  may 
be,  these  are  turning  out  a  moderate  quantity  of  not  very  bad  goods, 
if  the  work  is  of  a  simple  character. 

When,  later  on,  other  fabrics  of  a  distinctly  different  character 
are  wanted,  or  goods  of  complicated  construction,  the  weakness  of  the 
force  becomes  painfully  apparent.  The  old  hands  would  have  under- 
stood how  to  weave  nearly  everything  that  might  be  called  for,  and 
would  produce,  almost  from  the  outset,  their  full  quota  of  well-made 
goods,  while  the  new  hands  would  have  to  painfully  learn  how  to 
handle  each  new  job,  and  in  so  doing  would  be  the  cause  of  much  loss 
to  their  employers. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  serious  evils  entailed  by  a  protracted  strike, 
and  its  ill  effects  may  be  felt  for  years  afterward. 

Tact  Needed  in  Handling  Help. 

To  handle  the  large  working  force  in  a  mill,  composed  as  it  is  of. 
people  of  all  ages  and  many  nationalities  and  of  both  sexes,  is  a  prob- 
lem requiring  the  greatest  tact,  judgment,  and  firmness  on  the  part 
of  the  mill  superintendent.  Each  person  is  a  separate  individual  and 
may  have  untold  peculiarities  of  character  which  have  to  be  consid- 
ered. Justice  to  all  and  favoritism  to  none  must  be  the  foundation 
stone,  but  the  amount  of  finesse  that  is  required  to  keep  good,  but 
crotchety,  people  satisfied  with  their  jobs  is  immense. 

When  new  styles,  or  different  materials,  are  put  in  work,  there 
is  bound  to  be  widespread  complaint  as  to  the  character  of  the  ma- 
terial, the  rate  of  pay,  etc.,  etc.  It  is  true  that,  in  a  few  days,  when 
they  have  got  their  hands  in,  everything  will  probably  be  running 
smoothly,  and  the  rate  of  pay  assigned  for  the  work  will  be  found 
to  be  fair  and  sufficient;  but  this  is  not  always  apparent  to  them  at 
the  outset,  and  the  task  of  their  superior  is  to  reason  with  and  en- 
courage them,  so  as  to  get  them  to  use  their  best  and  most  willing 
efforts,  but  not  to  raise  the  price  fixed,  unless  it  should  prove  later  on 
to  be  really  insufficient,  as  it  is  very  hard  to  reduce  prices  once  made 
without  inviting  trouble. 

Many  complaints  are  more  or  less  just,  and  when  made  should  re- 
ceive proper  attention  and  redress,  but  these  are  the  small  minority, 
as  intelligent  managers  always  try  to  arrange  matters  in  every  direc- 
tion so  that  no  valid  cause  for  complaint  may  exist. 

Then,  there  are  many  unruly  and  disorderly  workpeople  who 
bluster  and  threaten,  and  these  must  be  treated  with  a  firm  hand  and 
be  put  promptly  in  their  places  or  summarily  dismissed.  Any  tem- 
porizing with  insolence  or  insubordination  would  make  chaos  in  a 
mill  in  a  week. 

America  may  or  may  not  be  for  the  Americans,  but  a  textile 
mill  certainly  seems  to  be  for  the  foreigners,  and  it  would  require  a 
polyglot  to  grapple  with  the  names  on  the  ordinary  payroll. 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    OPERATIVES  213 

This  confusion  of  tongues  makes  it  very  troublesome  to  explain, 
when  there  is  any  explaining  to  do,  and  adds  much  to  the  difficulty 
of  the  situation. 

Beggars  on  Horseback. 

The  employers  who  ignore  elementary  principles  of  fairness  in  deal- 
ing with  their  help,  and  many  do,  and  who  try  to  ride  roughshod 
over  their  people,  with  no  respect  for  their  peculiarities,  habits,  or 
rights,  will  always  suffer  severely  in  the  pocket,  in  the  long  run,  on 
account  of  such  arbitrary  and  ill  advised  methods. 

The  explanation  of  their  attitude  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  such 
employers  are  generally  sprung  from  the  very  lowest  classes  (or  else 
their  parents  were),  and  it  is  proverbial  that  no  one  makes  so  tyran- 
nical a  master  as  one  who  has  been  a  servant  himself. 

Every  worker  has  his  or  her  rights,  both  as  an  individual  and  as 
an  employee,  and  a  proper  respect  for  their  rights  will  always  be  shewn 
by  every  man  of  sense,  even  under  most  trying  circumstances. 

Impossibility  of  Personal  Acquaintance. 

A  good  deal  of  gratuitous  advice  is  offered  to  manufacturers,  as  to 
how  they  should  deal  with  their  operatives,  by  those  who  little  realize 
the  conditions.  They  are  told  that  they  should  treat  them  as  friends 
and  equals,  take  an  interest  in  them,  know  them  by  name,  etc.,  etc., 
and  that  then  labor  troubles  would  be  very  infrequent. 

Vain  illusion! 

To  begin  with,  no  manufacturer  conducting  a  mill  of  any  size, 
and  who  has  the  calls  on  his  time  and  thought,  outside  of  the  mill 
work,  that  all  manufacturers  have,  can  know  very  many  of  his  ordi- 
nary operatives  by  name,  or  in  many  cases  by  sight,  even  if  his  head- 
quarters were  at  the  mills,  and  for  those  stationed  in  New  York  it 
would  be  still  more  impossible. 

Furthermore,  the  ability  to  remember  faces  and  names  so  well 
as  to  be  able  to  identify  scores  or  hundreds  of  people  at  sight,  is  a 
very  rare  gift,  and  without  it  no  manufacturer  could  begin  to  have  a 
personal  acquaintance,  to  any  extent,  with  the  rank  and  file  of  his  force. 

It  is  the  superintendent  and  his  foremen,  by  reason  of  their  daily 
intimate  contact  with  the  people  at  their  work,  who  alone  can  have 
a  knowledge  of  the  individuality  of  these  people,  and  it  is  largely  to 
them  that  the  employer  must  look  to  see  that  equity  is  done,  and  peace, 
order,  and  efficiency  maintained. 

That  matters  in  factories  go  on  as  smoothly  as  they  do,  is  a  high 
testimonial  to  the  faithfulness,  tact,  and  justice  of  the  mill  super- 
intendents. 

Latent  Suspicion  of  Operatives. 

Now  it  is  sad,  but  true,  that  the  habit  of  mind  of  the  ordinary  mill 
operatives  towards  their  employers  is  one  of  latent  suspicion.  They 
seem  to  have  inherited  an  idea  that  the  man  who  pays  them  their 


214  MILLS   AND    THEIR    OPERATIVES 

wages  is  a  potential  enemy,  and  when  any  troublesome  questions  arise 
this  mental  attitude  becomes  at  once  apparent. 

Any  sane  and  decent  employer,  even  if  under  no  compulsion  by  the 
law,  would  see  to  it  that  his  people  were  fairly  treated,  and  that  the 
places  and  conditions  of  their  work  were  clean,  safe,  and  sanitary. 
Let  him  go  beyond  that,  and  engage,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  in 
what  is  known  as  "welfare  work,"  and  he  will  see  what  thanks  he 
gets.  While  the  benefits  offered  may  or  may  not  be  accepted,  he  will 
be  fortunate  if  he  escapes  being  regarded  as  an  enemy  in  consequence, 
and,  whether  it  comes  to  his  ears  or  not,  he  may  be  absolutely  cer- 
tain that  his  motives  will  be  discussed  throughout  the  mill  in  a  hostile 
manner,  and  every  kind  of  distorted  view  taken  of  them. 

This,  of  course,  should  not  prevent  the  steady  pursuing  of  desir- 
able ends  in  such  directions,  but  it  will  illustrate  how  little  it  can  serve 
in  helping  to  preserve  industrial  peace. 

Wages  and  Conditions  of  Living. 

Rates  of  wages,  whether  for  day  work  or  for  piece  work,  will  vary 
with  the  locality.  The  basis  of  all  such  compensation  is  that  it  shall 
suffice  to  support  the  operative  in  the  condition  in  which  others  of  his 
class  in  that  community  live. 

Circumstances  will  vary  widely.  Thus,  a  weaver  may  earn  $12.00 
a  week ;  his  wife  may  also  work  in  the  mill  as  weaver,  warper,  twister, 
or  what  not,  or  may  do  picking  at  home.  She  may  earn  another 
$12.00,  and  they  may  have  a  boy  and  a  girl  in  the  mill,  earning  re- 
spectively $5.00  and  $7.00  a  week,  making  a  total  for  the  family  of 
$36.00  a  week,  or  $1,800  a  year,  a  sum  sufficient  to  support  them  very 
comfortably. 

Another  weaver  may  also  earn  his  $12.00,  but  his  wife  may  know 
nothing  of  mill  work,  or  any  money  producing  work,  and  his  children 
may  be  young.  In  that  case  the  family  has  nothing  but  his  own  wages, 
and  the  struggle  for  existence  is  a  hard  one,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
save  anything. 

Underpaid  Employees  Unprofitable. 

Intelligent  employers  will  take  care  to  see  that  their  employees 
on  piece  work  get  off  enough  product  to  earn  for  themselves  a  fair 
average  wage.  If  they  fail  to  do  this,  it  means  that  the  machinery 
under  their  charge  is  not  sufficiently  productive,  and  that,  in  conse- 
quence, the  expense  chargeable  against  its  output  is  a  higher  unit  than 
it  should  be,  and  that  the  workman  earning  such  very  low  wages  must 
be  in  a  state  of  chronic  dissatisfaction,  and,  if  there  are  many  such, 
trouble  may  be  looked  for  sooner  or  later. 

When,  therefore,  it  is  seen  that  an  operative  is  falling  much  short 
in  earnings,  when  others,  on  the  same  work  and  under  the  same  con- 
ditions, are  doing  well,  the  cause  must  be  looked  for,  and,  if  there 
be  no  cause  except  the  lack  of  effort  or  ability  on  the  part  of  the  oper- 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    OPERATIVES  215 

ative,  he  must  be  told  that  if  he  cannot  bring  up  his  product  to  about 
what  it  should  be,  within  a  reasonable  time,  he  will  have  to  make  room 
for  some  one  who  can. 

There  are  always  a  few  workmen  whose  earnings  will  ever  be  well 
above  the  average,  and  there  are  otners  who  will  constantly  fall  below, 
but  a  low  limit  should  be  set  on  each  class  of  work,  and  no  person 
should  be  continued  in  employment  who  cannot  do  that,  or  better. 

It  may  sometimes  happen  that  poor  warps,  or  other  materials,  may 
get  put  in  work,  and  if  such  things  do  occur,  the  overseer  should  take 
special  pains  to  see  that  the  bad  work  is  fairly  divided,  and  that  a 
man  does  not  get  two  bad  jobs  in  succession. 

Every  pay  day,  the  manager  should  have  before  him  not  only  the 
current  pay  roll,  but  a  table  showing  the  average  earnings  of  every 
operative  up  to  date.  By  this  means  the  ones  whose  averages  are  too 
low  can  be  accurately  located. 

Strikes  and  Their  Causes. 

It  is  a  singular  thing  to  see  what  trifling  causes  may  provoke  a 
strike  if  the  situation  be  stupidly  or  arrogantly  handled,  and  when 
people  are  once  out,  no  matter  what  the  cause,  it  is  no  easy  matter 
to  get  them  back. 

Most  labor  unions  have  acquired  a  habit  of  calling  strikes,  even 
when  no  dissatisfaction  as  to  conditions  exists,  and  very  often  just 
at  the  times  when  the  workers  are  anxious  to  keep  at  work  and  are 
trying  to  save  something. 

Many  of  the  mill  workers  belong  to  unions,  but  far  more  do  not, 
and  the  strikes  are  called  by  the  noisy  10  per  cent,  of  the  member- 
ship of  the  unions,  because  the  90  per  cent,  of  quiet  people,  who  want 
to  stay  at  work,  are  afraid  to  oppose  them  at  the  meetings — a  familiar 
example  of  collective  cowardice. 

"Recognition  of  the  Union." 

If  a  strike  is  for  "recognition  of  the  union" — that  fatal  millstone 
which  labor  agitators  ever  seek  to  hang  about  the  necks  of  the  em- 
ployers— the  manufacturers  must  fight  it  to  the  bitter  end,  for  no 
honest  man  has  a  right  to  abdicate  his  liberty  and  put  himself  under 
the  domination  of  irresponsible  outsiders,  any  more  than  he  would 
have  a  right  to  sell  his  vote,  or  auction  off  his  children  as  slaves.  Bet- 
ter give  up  a  business  than  conduct  it  under  such  intolerable  conditions. 

If  the  demands  deal  with  rates  of  wages,  or  with  matters  that  may 
properly  be  the  subject  of  bargain  between  employer  and  employee,  a 
settlement  may  be  more  readily  arrived  at. 

The  best  way  to  avoid  strikes  is  to  treat  all  the  people  fairly  and 
firmly,  pay  fair  wages,  give  steady  work,  and  keep  the  mill  free  from 
labor  agitators. 


216  MILLS   AND    THEIR    OPERATIVES 

Strike  Violence,  and  the  Fear  of  It. 

It  is  singular  to  note  that,  when  a  strike  is  called,  the  non-union 
people  usually  all  go  out  also.  They  explain  that  they  are  quiet  peo- 
ple, and  that  if  they  kept  at  work  they  might  be  attacked  and  beaten, 
and  that  their  wives  and  children  and  themselves  would  be  called 
"scabs"  and  jeered  at  for  years  thereafter.  This  is  no  light  penalty  to 
pay  for  faithfulness  to  their  employer,  so  they  must  not  be  blamed  too 
much  for  their  action. 

Where  Popular  Government  Breaks  Down  and  Freedom  Ceases. 

It  is  on  occasions  of  this  kind  that  popular  government  breaks 
down,  and  the  name  of  Freedom  becomes  a  farce.  Those  who  want 
to  earn  an  honest  living  are  not  free  to  do  so,  but  strikers  are  free 
to  intimidate,  maim,  or  kill,  and  of  the  countless  number  of  crimes 
committed  by  strikers,  what  a  pitiful  number  are  punished,  even  in  the 
most  trivial  way! 

The  local  authorities  are  often  useless  for  preserving  order,  or 
worse  than  useless.  So  long  as  governors,  sheriffs,  magistrates,  and 
other  officials,  whose  duty  it  is  to  preserve  the  peace,  are  elective  offi- 
cers, they  will  continue  to  refuse  to  deal  promptly,  courageously,  and 
effectively,  with  the  violence  commonly  attendant  upon  strikes,  as, 
by  so  doing,  it  might  be  necessary  to  shoot  some  of  their  constituents 
in  order  to  preserve  the  rights,  the  liberties,  and  the  persons  of  those 
innocent  and  peaceable  people  who  desire  to  work.  The  strikers  and 
their  friends  number  many  votes,  while  the  employers  are  a  negligible 
quantity  in  that  respect. 

The  sheriff  of  a  county  has  very  great  powers,  and  any  sheriff  who 
intended  at  all  hazards  to  see  that  the  peace  was  kept  could  settle 
any  incipient  trouble  in  a  day.  Persons  who  brutally  attack  inoffen- 
sive workers  are  not  usually  endowed  with  a  very  high  variety  of 
courage,  and  when  they  realize  that  deputies,  armed  with  rifles,  are 
about  to  use  them  as  targets,  they  take  to  cover  instanter.  The  putting 
two  or  three  ringleaders  of  a  disturbance  out  of  business  right  at  the 
start — as  should  be  done — would  save  scores  of  innocent  people  from 
grave  injury,  or  death,  at  the  hands  of  any  ruffians  among  the  strikers. 

It  may  be  taken  as  axiomatic  that  any  strike,  called  for  the  usual 
trivial  reasons,  would  not  have  the  ghost  of  a  chance  of  success  except 
for  violence  or  the  threat  of  violence,  and  this  threat  is,  at  all  times, 
the  most  effective  weapon  that  the  strikers  have. 

The  manufacturers,  paying  heavy  taxes,  but  not  receiving  the  pro- 
tection they  are  entitled  to  under  the  law  from  the  officials  whose 
salaries  they  help  to  pay,  have,  therefore,  a  hard  time  of  it  when  labor 
disturbances  are  prevalent. 

Necessity  for  Means  of  Defense. 
It  may  thus  be  a  desirable  thing,  when  new  mill  buildings  are  being 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    OPERATIVES  217 

planned,  to  consider  their  defensive  possibilities  in  this  connection. 

For  instance,  all  lower  story  windows  could  be  well  grated,  and 
high  and  strong  fencing  might  surround  the  property,  with  strong  gates. 

At  intervals,  along  the  external  sides  of  the  various  buildings,  bays 
could  be  built  out,  say,  about  five  feet  wide,  and  extending  outwardly 
a  foot  or  two. 

These  bays,  on  every  floor,  could  have  grated  windows  looking  out 
in  each  direction.  In  them  would  rise  the  stand  pipes  for  fire  protec- 
tion, and  the  coils  of  hose  for  each  floor  would  hang  in  them.  Then, 
when  strike  disturbances  prevailed,  and  rioting  and  breaches  of  the 
peace  were  taking  place,  the  entire  space  about  the  mill  could  be  ef- 
fectively cleared  by  the  use  of  the  hose. 

How  Those  Willing  to  Work  Can  be  Protected. 

Again,  in  the  centre  of  a  square,  surrounded  by  mill  buildings, 
could  be  erected  a  two  or  three-story  building,  large  enough  to  house 
a  considerable  number  of  people.  There  could  be  kept  on  hand  a  good 
supply  of  cots  and  other  equipment  necessary  for  the  purpose. 

Then,  in  case  of  violence  attendant  upon  a  strike,  people  who  might 
be  engaged  elsewhere,  or  persons  from  the  vicinity  who  might  wish 
to  work,  could  be  brought  into  the  premises  in  a  well-protected  cov- 
ered motor  van,  their  numbers  and  their  persons  being  entirely  con- 
cealed from  hostile  eyes.  Once  in,  there  would  be  no  necessity  of 
their  leaving  the  mills  during  the  continuance  of  the  trouble.  The 
arrangements  to  house,  feed,  and  amuse  them  would  all  have  been 
prepared  for,  and  so  they  would  not  be  exposed  to  violence,  as  would 
people  who  had  to  pass  backward  and  forward  to  their  homes  twice 
a  day. 

By  this  means,  a  new  force  could  be  steadily  and  surely  assembled, 
for  it  is  relatively  easy  to  get  hands  when  they  are  absolutely  exempt 
from  molestation. 

Right  of  the  Individual  to  Defend  Himself  and  His  Dependents. 

As  the  State  so  signally  fails  to  protect  the  manufacturer  and  those 
desirous  of  working  for  him,  he  must  then  exercise  his  inalienable 
right  to  protect  himself  and  his  dependents,  and,  to  do  so  effectively, 
he  must  make  his  preparations  in  advance. 

At  ordinary  times  this  building  could  be  used  for  storage,  or  as 
a  club  house  for  the  employees,  or  it  could  be  used  for  welfare  work. 
Lessons  in  cooking,  and  dressmaking  could  be  given  to  the  women 
for  a  small  charge,  and  the  foreigners  could  be  taught  English,  and 
lecture  courses  could  be  given. 

Employment  of  Minors. 

The  employment  of  children  in  mills,  and  the  age  at  which  they 
may  be  permitted  to  work,  has  received  much  attention  of  late  years, 
and  deservedly  so.  There  are  many  features  of  interest  in  this  ques- 


218  MILLS   AND    THEIR    OPERATIVES 

tion  which  I  cannot  discuss  here,  but  it  is  quite  apparent  that  employ- 
ing children,  who  have  not  come  to  an  age  where  they  realize  what 
responsibility  is,  must  mean  excessive  waste,  and,  with  a  material 
so  costly  as  silk,  it  would  prove  a  very  expensive  matter  for  the 
employer. 

Profit  Sharing  an  Aid  to  Efficiency. 

The  general  efficiency  of  a  mill  organization  may  be  greatly  pro- 
moted by  letting  the  more  important  employees  share  in  the  profits. 
Thus,  a  certain  percentage  of  the  net  profits,  or  the  dividends  from 
certain  shares  of  stocks,  might  be  set  aside  to  an  extent  that,  when 
the  business  was  doing  well,  would  give  them  a  bonus  equal  to,  say, 
15  to  25  per  cent,  of  their  annual  salary. 

This  could  go  to  superintendents  and  their  assistants,  to  head  de- 
signers, head  loom-fixers,  chief  engineers,  and  possibly  to  department 
foremen.  It  would  be  well  to  pay  it  only  to  those  who  had  been  with 
the  concern  as  much  as  a  year,  and  to  divide  it  into  quarterly  pay- 
ments, as,  in  that  way,  it  would  have  a  more  continuously  stimulating 
effect.  Other  good  plans,  looking  to  the  same  result,  could  easily  be 
worked  out. 

Criticism  from  the  Selling  End. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  remarked  that,  at  the  selling  end,  criti- 
cisms are  at  all  times  freely  passed  upon  the  mills  and  their  manage- 
ments, and  there  is  usually  no  one  there  to  defend  them.  If  they  do 
not  produce  the  qualities  of  goods  that  the  salesmen  want  and  be 
willing  to  sell  them  at  the  bottom  prices  quoted  anywhere,  and  pro- 
duce every  yard  perfect  and  every  order  on  time,  no  matter  how  short 
the  time  allowed  for  its  execution,  they  will  assuredly  be  blamed.  The 
real  wonder  is  how  they  ever  can  accomplish  as  much  as  they  do. 

It  is,  however,  useful  to  reflect  that  the  best  informed  men  in 
the  trade  recognize  the  fact,  and  are  free  to  state  it,  that  for  one  mill 
that  goes  to  the  wall  on  account  of  inferior  manufacturing  ability 
there  are  five  or  ten  that  are  put  out  of  business  by  inefficient  sales- 
manship. 


XIX 

QUESTIONS  RELATING  TO  MILL  HELP. 


In  order  to  get  together  a  thoroughly  trained  staff  of  mill  employees, 
a  period  of  years  is  generally  required.  For  each  employee  who  is 
permanently  retained,  many  others  have  been  tried  and  found  wanting. 

Effect  on  the  Personnel  of  Continuity  of  Work. 

Continuity  of  work,  week  in  and  week  out,  and  year  after  year,  is 
one  of  the  greatest  helps  in  the  upbuilding  of  such  an  organization. 
If  it  is  either  a  feast  or  a  famine,  running  overtime  one  month,  and 
with  half  the  machinery  shut  down  the  next,  it  is  obvious  that  there 
must  be  a  great  shifting  of  help,  old  employees  finding  work  elsewhere, 
when  laid  off,  and  new  ones  having  to  be  hired  to  take  their  places 
when  the  mill  starts  up  again.  A  large  proportion  of  the  new  hands 
will  usually  prove  so  unsatisfactory  that  a  weeding-out  process  is  neces- 
sitated, and,  by  the  time  a  fairly  good  force  is  secured,  slack  work 
comes  again  with  a  repetition  of  the  same  trouble. 

The  effect  upon  both  the  quantity  and  the  quality  of  the  output  of 
the  mill,  under  such  conditions,  is  disastrous. 

Some  Causes  for  the  Shifting  of  Help. 

Apart  from  this,  there  is  always  some  change  in  the  personnel 
going  on,  for  many  reasons.  Some  will  fall  ill,  families  may  move 
away,  and  some  may  desire  to  revisit,  or  return  to,  their  old  homes  in 
Europe,  or  elsewhere;  occasionally,  also,  there  is  a  not  unnatural  de- 
sire for  a  change  of  surroundings  or  climate  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 
people;  others  may  think  that  they  have  been  unfairly  or  arbitrarily 
treated  by  those  in  authority  over  them,  and  frequently  such  is  the  case ; 
and  then  there  are  people  who  leave  without  notice  and  for  no  ap- 
parent reason,  some  of  them,  possibly,  having  got  on  the  wrong  side 
of  the  law  in  one  way  or  another. 


220  QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP 

In  some  localities,  a  good  deal  of  the  female  help  will  take  flight  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year,  whether  to  act  as  waitresses  at  summer 
hotels,  to  work  in  the  canneries,  to  go  hop  picking,  or  what  not,  much 
to  the  loss  and  inconvenience  of  their  regular  employers. 

Tramp  Weavers. 

Then  there  are  the  "tramp  weavers,"  usually  thoroughly  skilled 
men,  who  may  have  worked  in  mills  in  every  state  in  the  Union.  These 
move  from  place  to  place  as  the  seasons  change,  or  as  the  fancy  strikes 
them.  They  may  work  a  week,  or  a  month  or  two,  then  drop  out  when 
a  pay  closes,  and,  without  saying  a  word,  come  back  on  pay  day  to 
collect  their  pay — if  they  have  not  assigned  it  to  some  one  else — and 
are  gone. 

They  are  doubtless  philosophers,  who  only  do  work  enough  to  give 
them  money  for  their  modest  needs,  and  as  they  travel  the  country 
they  see  new  scenes,  and  can  go  south  or  north  as  the  season  dictates, 
just  as  their  rich  fellow  citizens  do.  Even  if,  as  the  years  roll  on, 
they  find  themselves  empty  of  pocket,  they  will  reflect  that  most  of  their 
fellows  who  stayed  at  home  with  their  noses  to  the  grindstone  are  not  a 
whit  better  off  than  what  they  are. 

Causes  for  Dismissal. 

Many  workers,  too,  will  have  to  be  discharged.  These  are  the  in- 
competent, and  those  who  are  hopelessly  slow ;  some  who  are  quarrel- 
some, some  drunken,  some  insubordinate,  and  others  who  are  trouble 
makers,  and  there  may  be  occasional  instances  of  dishonesty. 

The  Problem  of  Securing  Help. 

All  this  goes  to  shew  that,  even  in  those  mills  which  have  steady 
work  at  all  times,  the  securing  of  needed  help  has  always  to  be  con- 
sidered, while,  with  those  mills  that  run  intermittently,  or  with  those 
that  are  situated  where  help  is  scarce,  it  is  one  of  the  most  serious  prob- 
lems confronting  the  administration. 

Rates  of  Wages  a  Local  Condition. 

The  question  is  seldom  one  of  wages.  That  is  more  or  less  of  a 
local  condition  as  regards  each  district,  and,  in  fact,  as  regards  each 
mill,  and  the  cost  of  living  in  the  vicinity  is  also  a  controlling  factor. 
Sometimes  the  rate  of  wages  for  piece  work,  in  two  mills  near  to  one 
another  and  running  on  exactly  the  same  goods,  may  vary  consid- 
erably— and  properly  so. 

One  of  the  two  may  have  high-class  machinery  that  can  be  run  at 
maximum  speeds ;  its  raw  material  may  be  the  best  obtainable,  and  the 
preparation  and  dyeing  of  it  may  be  done  by  first-class  houses ;  its  mill 
organization  may  be  superb;  and  it  may  be  backed  up  by  successful 
selling  at  the  distributing  end. 

In  the  other  mill,  the  reverse  of  these  conditions  may  obtain,  and, 


QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP  221 

with  poor  machinery,  material,  mill  organization,  and  selling  talent, 
the  situation  may  be  deplorable. 

The  result,  .so  far  as  the  operative  on  piece  work  is  concerned,  will 
be,  that,  in  the  first  mill,  his  annual  product  will  be  so  greatly  in 
excess  of  what  it  could  be  in  the  second  mill,  that  even  at  a  consid- 
erably lower  piece-work  rate,  his  annual  earnings  will  be  much  higher. 

Each  mill,  according  to  its  circumstances,  has  got  to  fix  its  rates 
on  a  basis  fairly  satisfactory  to  the  help,  and,  within  limits,  these  rates 
will  vary  from  factory  to  factory. 

Variation  of  Wages  and  Hours  in  Different  Localities. 

It  is  a  very  different  matter  when  the  prices  paid  for  labor  in  one 
manufacturing  district,  and  the  hours  that  that  labor  works,  vary  ma- 
terially from  the  conditions  that  prevail  in  another  district,  for,  under 
these  circumstances,  the  district  paying  the  highest  wages  and  work- 
ing the  shortest  hours,  finds  it  almost  impossible  to  compete  success- 
fully with  its  better  situated  competitor. 

Such  conditions  are  constantly  arising,  and  heavy  and  long  con- 
tinued losses  in  some  sections  are  the  result,  ending  either  in  a  re- 
adjustment of  wage  rates  that  will  somewhat  equalize  matters,  or  in 
the  industry  dying  out  where  the  labor  cost  is  too  high. 

Meantime,  such  differences  in  rates  invite  strikes  for  higher  wages 
or  shorter  hours  in  the  districts  where  wages  are  low. 

The  Silk  Throwing  Strike  of  1907. 

In  1907,  a  serious  strike  broke  out  in  the  silk  throwing  mills  lo- 
cated in  Lackawanna  and  Luzerne  Counties,  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  which  is  included  the  important  Scranton  district,  and  which 
strike  was  settled  by  arbitration  in  December  of  that  year. 

Among  the  data  furnished  to  the  arbitrator  was  the  following  com- 
parative table  of  wages  paid  for  female  labor,  in  the  throwing  in- 
dustry, in  Paterson,  N.  J.,  and  in  Scranton,  Pa. 

Relative  Wages  in  Scranton  and  Paterson. 
55  Hours,  Paterson,  N.  J. 

Winders $7.50 

Doublers   7.50 

Tram  spinners  9.00 

Organ  flyer  hands 7.50  to  $8.00 

Spinners 5.00  to    6.00 

Reelers 7.00 

Lacers   4.50 

Bobbin  Boys 3.50  to    4.00 

$8l/2  Hours,  Scranton,  Pa. 

Winders $4.00  to     5.00 

Doublers 3.00  to    4.50 


222  QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP 

Tram  spinners 3.50  to  4.50 

Organ  flyer  hands 2.75  to  4.00 

Spinners 2.50  to  3.50 

Reelers  3.00  to  3.50 

Lacers 1.25  to  2.50 

Bobbin  boys   2.50  to  3.25 

This  illustrates  very  well  the  difficulty  of  the  competition  referred 
to,  if  these  figures  are  correct. 

The  arbitrator  decided  that  the  mills  which  were  parties  to  the 
arbitration  should  reduce  their  working  hours  to  55  per  week,  and 
should  adopt  the  following  minimum  wage  scale  for  throwing  mills : 

Rates  Fixed  by  the  Arbitrator. 

WAGES  TO  BE  PAID  IN  THROWING  DEPARTMENT. 

Minimum  rate  for  winders,  doublers  and  twisters  (second  time 
spinners)  : 

Per  week. 

Learners  up  to  six  months $2.00 

After  six  months,  to  twelve  months 2.50 

After  twelve  months  to  eighteen  months 3.00 

After  eighteen  months  to  twenty-four  months  ....     3.75 

After  twenty-four  months,  at  least 4.50 

Tussah  workers,  50  cts.  per  week  additional,  or  . .     5.00 

Minimum  rate  for  first  time  spinners  and  reelers: 

Learners  up  to  six  months  $2.00 

After  six  months  to  twelve  months 2.50 

After  twelve  months  to  eighteen  months 3.00 

After  eighteen  months  to  twenty-four  months 3.50 

After  twenty-four  months,  at  least 4.00 

(NOTE. — At  this  writing — March,  1913 — a  general  advance  in 
wages  of  10%  has  been  granted  in  most  of  the  throwing  mills  in 
Eastern  Pennsylvania.) 


In  this  connection,  some  figures  published  in  1910  by  the  U.  S. 
Government,  shewing  wages  paid  in  the  silk  industry  abroad,  as  com- 
pared with  the  average  wages  paid  here,  may  be  of  interest. 

WAGES  IN  THE  SILK  TRADE. 

A  comparison  of  wages  in  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries 
is  as  follows: 


QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP  223 

Wages  per  day.          Hours  of  labor 
Men.  Women.        per  day. 

United  States  (Connecticut, 
New  Jersey  and  New 

York)    $1.50  to  $3.00      $1.00  to  $2.50        8  to  10 

Average  about 2.25  1.60 

France  and  Switzerland 
(Lyons  and  vicinity,  Zu- 
rich, etc.)  75  to  1.50  .50  to  .90  9  to  ii 

Italy  (Como,  etc.) 50  to     .80          .30  to     .60      9^  to  12 

Japan  (power  looms,  pay 
includes  board  and  lodg- 
ing)   15  to  .20  .10  to  .12  10  to  14 

China  (no  power  looms)   ..     .10  to     .12          .06  to      .09       10  to  14 

WAGES  IN  ENGLAND. 

Average  wages  per  week  paid  in  all  districts  of  England  (Board 
of  Trade  Reports)  : 

MEN. 

Foremen    $6.80 

Throwsters 4.50 

Pickers,  thrown  silk  4.84 

Twisters,  sewing  silk   6.10 

Dressers,  spun  silk   ,. .  6.34 

Dressers'  assistants    4.70 

Dyers    5.54 

Weavers 5.50 

Warehousemen   6.42 

Mechanics    7.78 

Laborers    4-64 

WOMEN. 
Doublers — 

Thrown  silk   2.44 

Spun  silk 2.58 

Throwsters 2.08 

Reelers   2.44 

Winders  and  spoolers   2.70 

Preparers  and  carders 2.70 

Spinners 2.56 

Gassers 3-54 

Winders,  weaving  department  2.46 

Weavers 3-IQ 


224  QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP 

FRANCE,  LYONS. 

Weavers $3-i6  to  $3.46 

Dyers   ' 5.76  to   6.92 

Printers    6.92  to   8.06 

Finishers    5.76  to   6.34 

Laborers 4.60  to   4.90 

Velvet  weavers 5.14  to    5.90 

GERMANY,  CREFELD. 

Report  of  United  States  Consul  Joseph  E.  Haven,  1909: 
"There  is  no  recognized  wage  scale  in  force  in  the  silk  and  velvet 
mills  in  this  district,  each  manufacturer  having  a  standard  of  his  own. 
The  wages  vary  in  the  different  departments,  according  to  the  skill  of 
the  several  workmen.  In  the  weaving  department  overseers  receive 
from  $5.95  to  $7.14  a  week,  while  laborers  are  paid  from  $5.71  to 
$6. 1 8.  In  a  few  factories  wages  are  paid  according  to  piecework. 
Overseers  in  the  winding  and  warping  departments  receive  from  $5.95 
to  $7.14  weekly;  the  laborers  from  $3.57  to  $4.96.  The  employees  in 
these  departments  are  generally  women.  In  the  dyeing  department 
overseers  are  paid  $9.52  to  $10.71,  skilled  labor  from  $7.14  to  $8.33, 
and  unskilled  labor  from  $4.76  to  $5.95.  The  overseers  in  the  finish- 
ing department  receive  $8.33  to  $9.52,  and  the  laborers  from  $4.76 
to  $6.18." 

DUSSELDORF. 

Report  of  United  States  Consul  Peter  Lieder  on  wages  in  silk  in- 
dustry in  Dusseldorf : 

"In  spinning  mills,  where  only  women  are  employed,  the  average 
daily  wage  is  from  71.4  cents  to  83.3  cents.  Immediately  after  leav- 
ing school,  usually  at  fourteen  years,  the  young  girls  enter  the  fac- 
tories. In  two  years  they  earn  from  35.7  cents  to  47.6  cents  a  day, 
and  after  four  or  five  years  their  wages  are  increased  to  the  maximum 
of  83.3  cents.  In  weaving  mills  the  salary  undergoes  many  fluctua- 
tions, reaching  as  high  as  $1.19  per  day.  There  are  also  many  fac- 
tories where  workers  are  paid  according  to  what  they  produce,  and 
often  make  as  much  as  $1.30  a  day." 

BARMEN. 

Report  of  Special  Agent  Clark  on  wages  in  the  silk  industry  in 
Barmen : 

"Wages  in  Barmen  and  the  surrounding  section  are  higher  than 
in  most  other  textile  centres  of  Germany.  Ordinary  weavers  will  aver- 
age 60  to  80  cents  a  day,  and  weavers  on  special  work  will  get  as  high 
as  $1.43  or  more." 


QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP  225 

Standard  Wage  Scales. 

Much  effort  has  been  spent  from  time  to  time  in  the  attempt  to 
establish  standard  price  lists,  for  harmonizing  the  rates  of  the  various 
mills  and  to  afford  the  workers 'fair  pay. 

For  the  reasons  already  set  forth,  such  a  programme  can  never 
have  a  very  wide  acceptance,  as  the  rates  necessary  to  give  the  opera- 
tive a  fair  wage  under  the  average  of  manufacturing  conditions — 
which  is  poor — would  be  absurdly  high  for  the  well  managed  mills 
with  first  class  equipment  and  highest  grade  silk. 

The  Paterson  Broad-Silk  Price  List. 

Such  a  price  list,  for  labor  employed  in  the  broad-silk  trade,  was, 
indeed,  worked  out  and  put  into  use  in  Paterson,  N.  J.,  where  it  found 
considerable  acceptance,  though  doubtless  each  mill  made  modifications 
of  it  to  suit  its  own  conditions. 

I  present  this  price  list  herewith,  some  of  the  items  in  it  represent- 
ing rather  the  average  of  the  rates  than  fixed  figures. 

This  was  in  existence  in  1909/1910,  but  conditions  in  the  Pater- 
son silk  industry  have  been  somewhat  modified  by  strikes  that  have 
since  occurred. 

PATERSON  PRICE  LIST. 

PIECE  WORK. 

Winding.  14/16  Raw-Silk  for  single  weaving.    Gum loc.  per  Ib. 

Winding.  13/15  Colored  Organzine,  16/18  oz.  dye.    Gum.  .I2C.  per  Ib. 

Winding.  3,  4  &  5  Thread  Tram,  22/24  °z-  dye.    Gum. . . .  IDC.  per  Ib. 

Winding.  2/40  Dyed  Cotton  Yarn 5c.  per  Ib. 

Winding.  2/80  Dyed  Cotton  Yarn 6c.  per  Ib. 

Winding.  2/120  Dyed  Cotton  Yarn 8c.  per  Ib. 

Winding.  2/200  Schappe  or  Spun  Silk  8c.  per  Ib. 

Winding.  2/250  Schappe  or  Spun  Silk loc.  per  Ib. 

Warping.  14/16  Raw-Silk,  straight  work.  Per  1,000. .  I2c.  per  100  yds. 

Warping.  13/15  Dyed  Organzine.     Per  1,000 15c.  per  looyds. 

Warping.  Cotton  or  Spun  Silk.     Per  1,000 15c.  per  looyds. 

Twisting.  Straight    3oc.  per  1,000  ends. 

Twisting.  Two  or  more  beams.    For  second  beam 5c.  extra 

Twisting.  Double  warp   5c.  extra 

Day  Work  Rates. 

Winders,  per  week   $7-5O  to  $8.00 

Warpers     "              18.00 

Drawers-in"        "       18.00  to  20.00 

Twisters      "        "       18.00 

Quillers       "       "      5-5°  to   6.50 

Pickers        "        "     6. 50  to    7.00 


226  QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP 

WEAVING  PRICE  LIST  FOR  BROAD  SILKS. 

Standard  Plain  Goods.  Standard  Jacquard  Goods. 

Thds.  Reed.  Picks.  Price.  Thds.  Reed.  Picks.  Price 

1  60          88  4^  2  60  88            7 

2  60          88  $y2  3  60  88            8 

3  60          88  6*/2  4  60  88            9 

4  60         88  ?y2                      5  60  88           gy2 

5  60          88  8  6  60  88  10 

6  60         88.,'  .8J4  7  60  88  ii 

7  60         88  $y2  8  60  88  ny2 

8  60         88  10 

REED  SCALE,  STANDARD  60  DENT. 

i  %  added  to  price  paid  per  yard  for  each  dent  above  standard. 

i  %  deducted  from  price  paid  per  yard  for  each  dent  below  standard. 

PICK   SCALE,  STANDARD  88  PICKS. 

i%  added  to  price  paid  per  yard  for  each  pick  above  standard. 

i  %  deducted  from  price  paid  per  yard  for  each  pick  below  standard. 

WIDTH   SCALE,   STANDARD  2O". 


Widths  above  20"  2,%%  per  inch  added  to  price  paid  per  yard. 
15%  extra  to  be  paid  for  regular  one  loom  jobs. 

SHUTTLE   SCALE,   STANDARD    I. 

Extra 

Plain  Goods:  2  to  4  shuttles,  one  cent  extra; 

5  and  6,  two  cents  extra.    Seven,  three  cents  extra. 
Jacquard  :         One  cent  for  second  shuttle  and  J4  cent  extra  for  every 

added  shuttle  over  two. 

SHAFT   SCALE,    STANDARD    IO. 

Y%  cent  extra  for  every  shaft  above  ten. 

BEAM   SCALE,   STANDARD   I. 

Extra  beams,  y2  cent  each. 

Jobs  on  two  beams  with  satin  stripes,  satin  threads  to  be  counted  at 
only  half  their  number,  and  be  figured  as  ground  threads. 

THREADS. 

Stitch  and  stripe  threads  counted  as  ground  threads. 
Above  4  threads,  tabby  weaves,  25%  extra  above  price  list. 
If  %  cotton  filling  below  100  count,  y*  cent  extra. 

JACQUARD  MACHINES. 

1,200  fine  index,  y*  cent  extra  per  yard. 

Double  600,  one  cent  extra  per  yard. 

Above  double  scale  10%  per  yard  extra  on  price  paid. 


QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP  227 

SWIVELS. 

Single  Rack :     Up  to  6  spaces,  iy2  cent  per  yard  extra. 

Above  6,  Y%  cent  per  yard  for  each  space  extra. 
Double  Rack:  3  times  price  of  single. 
Triple  Rack:    4  times  price  of  single. 

GRENADINES. 

Plain — 100%  extra  above  price  list. 
Figured — 130%  extra  above  price  list. 

Scarfs,  Two  Wides,  etc. — J^  cent  per  yard  extra  for  every  pair  of 
doups. 

RULES    FOR   FIGURING    PRICES. 

If  reed  is  a  different  count  from  standard,  first  add  or  deduct  the 
difference  from  standard  price,  which  will  give  the  different  reed 
price ;  then,  if  there  are  any  differences  in  picks  from  standard,  add  or 
deduct  difference  from  price  to  be  paid  on  the  different  reed. 

This  will  give  the  list  price. 

If  the  goods  are  any  wider  than  standard,  then  add  difference  to 
price. 

All  extras  such  as  beams,  shafts,  shuttles,  etc.,  must  be  now  added. 

If  one  loom  jobs,  now  add  15%. 


The  foregoing  will  give  a  very  good  idea  of  the  elements  that 
enter  into  such  price  lists,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  handled. 

Training  Country  Help. 

When  mills  are  established  in  country  districts,  practically  all  of 
the  help  has  to  be  trained,  and  this  means  weary  and  discouraging 
work,  covering  months  and  years,  during  which  time  the  percentage 
of  imperfect  goods  turned  out  is  very  great. 

It  is  usually  found  convenient  to  set  aside  a  room  in  the  mill,  or 
adjoining  the  mill,  equip  it  with  a  few  looms,  etc.,  and  organize  a 
weaving  school,  in  which  learners  are  taught  the  rudiments  of  the  art. 

Some  staple  fabric,  such  as  a  black  taffeta,  or  satin,  may  be  used 
as  the  article  to  break  them  in  on,  and  the  losses  on  the  large  amount 
of  defective  goods,  produced  by  these  learners,  is  charged  to  the  cost 
of  installation,  or  some  other  suitable  account. 

Trouble  of  Securing  Help  in  the  Country. 

In  getting  help  in  a  country  location,  the  class  feeling  in  the  vicinity 
must  be  reckoned  with.  The  daughters  of  the  farmers,  in  many  sec- 
tions, look  down  upon  factory  hands  and  consider  mill  work  beneath 
them,  and  yet  these  same  farmers'  daughters  may  represent  most  of  the 
labor  that  is  available  in  the  district,  and,  without  them,  labor  would 


228  QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP 

have  to  be  brought  in  from  a  distance  which  would  be  a  serious  dis- 
advantage. 

How  One  Concern  Met  the  Difficulty. 

I  heard  of  one  concern  which  overcame  this  prejudice  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner. 

A  spacious  room  was  provided  as  a  permanent  lunch  room,  and 
was  well  equipped  with  round  tables,  good  chairs,  and  suitable  table 
equipment. 

A  day  was  set  for  the  opening  of  the  mill.  All  of  the  machinery 
had  been  installed,  the  rooms  were  decorated,  and  everything  was  in 
most  attractive  shape. 

A  modest  sized  force  of  skilled  help  was  put  to  work  at  the  dif- 
ferent machines,  all  of  them  being  neatly  dressed. 

Every  family  round  the  countryside  had  been  specially  invited  to 
attend,  and  provision  had  been  made  for  a  dance  and  for  a  substantial 
supper  afterward. 

They  came,  crowds  of  them,  and  when  they  saw  the  conditions  of 
work  as  they  were  in  that  mill,  their  prejudices  vanished,  and  num- 
bers of  them  took  work  in  the  mill  as  learners. 

This  may  have  been  an  exceptional  case,  but  it  might  be  made  the 
rule  with  great  advantage. 

Understandings  Between  Manufacturers  Regarding  Help. 

Mills  located  near  to  one  another  frequently  have  an  understanding 
that  no  operative  working  in  one  mill  shall  be  hired  away  by  another 
mill.  This  is  a  very  useful  arrangement,  as  any  other  course  would 
have  the  effect  of  pitting  one  employer  against  the  other  in  bidding 
up  the  wages  of  the  people  to  an  unprofitable  point,  and  this  would 
be  especially  the  case  in  small  towns  where  there  was  not  help  enough 
to  go  round. 

The  result  of  this  is  often  seen  in  those  manufacturing  towns, 
where,  after  all  the  available  labor  is  fully  employed,  some  new  estab- 
lishment locates  and  finds  to  its  sorrow  that  the  only  way  it  can  se- 
cure hands  is  to  tempt  them  away  from  its  neighbors  by  offering  higher 
pay.  The  help,  so  secured,  is  got  back  by  the  others  by  a  still  higher 
raise,  and  so  the  game  continues  till  every  one  is  paying  more  than 
he  can  afford,  all  along  the  line,  and  no  one  employer  has  benefited 
a  particle. 

Care  in  the  Engaging  of  Applicants  for  Work. 

As  all  manufacturers  have  constantly  to  employ  new  people,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  it  is  of  much  importance  that  the  most  intel- 
ligent methods  be  employed  in  making  the  selection. 

The  way  ordinarily  adopted  is  to  talk  to  the  applicant,  and,  if 
he  tells  a  fairly  straight  story,  to  put  him  to  work  with  practically 
no  further  enquiry.  Of  course,  if  he  proves  at  the  start  to  be  thor- 
oughly incompetent,  he  is  quickly  discharged,  having  in  the  mean- 


QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP  229 

time  damaged  more  or  less  material,  but  if  he  seems  reasonably  ex- 
perienced he  remains  on  the  job. 

Later  on,  it  may  turn  out  that  he  is  a  strike  organizer,  a  periodical 
drunkard,  or  undesirable  for  many  reasons,  but  this  is  only  found  out 
by  trouble  arising. 

A  system  that  would  help  to  inform  manufacturers  regarding  ap- 
plicants for  work  would  be  a  great  benefit,  and  would  tend  to  give 
steady  work  to  the  good  people,  and  to  drive  the  worthless  ones  out 
of  the  trade. 

This  can  only  be  effected  by  a  free  and  full  interchange  of  in- 
formation between  mills  regarding  the  help,  and  because  mills  are  com- 
petitors is  no  reason  why  a  friendly  co-operation  might  not  be  looked 
for,  particularly  as,  in  such  a  case,  it  would  be  a  matter  of  self  interest. 

There  has  been  unfortunately  too  much  unwarranted  jealousy  and 
mistrust  shown  between  rival  organizations,  the  animus  being  some- 
times displayed  by  the  owners,  sometimes  by  their  mill  superintendents 
and  foremen,  and  sometimes  by  both. 

Men  of  one  nationality  are  prone  to  express  dislike  or  distrust  of 
those  of  some  other  race,  and  much  clannishness  is  the  result.  All  this 
is  bad  policy,  and  is  a  hindrance  to  their  best  interests. 

Records  Which  Should  be  Kept. 

When  persons  apply  for  work,  the  names  and  addresses  that  they 
give  should  be  written  down,  as  well  as  their  statements  regarding 
their  former  employment,  so  long  at  this  mill,  so  long  at  that,  etc.,  the 
class  of  work  that  they  claim  experience  on,  and  the  reasons  for  their 
being  out  of  work. 

A  card  of  enquiry,  with  a  stamped  and  addressed  envelope  for  its 
return,  should  now  be  mailed  to  one  or  more  of  the  firms  for  whom 
the  applicant  claimed  to  have  worked. 

This  card  would  have  noted  on  it  the  statements  that  had  been 
made,  and  would  have  blanks  to  be  filled  in,  wherein  the  former  em- 
ployer could  note  whether  the  workman  was  good,  fair,  poor  or  worth- 
less ;  the  nature  of  the  work  that  he  had  been  employed  at,  his  ability, 
his  experience  and  what  his  personal  character  was.  No  enquiry  would 
be  made  regarding  his  former  earnings  or  rates  of  pay.  A  short  de- 
scription of  the  person  might  be  given  by  the  enquirer  as  regards  gen- 
eral appearance  and  probable  age. 

Even  if  it  were  thought  proper  to  put  the  applicant  to  work  at 
once,  this  information  should  be  written  for  just  the  same. 

In  every  mill  there  should  be  kept  a  record  book  of  the  help,  which 
would  show  the  full  name,  the  address,  the  previous  employers  and 
length  of  time  with  each,  and  the  date  of  employment,  of  each  em- 
ployee. It  should  also  show  the  date  of  his  leaving  and  the  reason 
for  same.  In  too  many  cases,  as  it  is,  the  only  available  records  are 
the  old  payroll  books,  while  a  record  of  the  kind  referred  to  would 


230  QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP 

be  of  most  material  assistance  in  the  prompt  answering  of  questions 
regarding  former  employees. 

Many  manufacturers,  when  enquiries  regarding  applicants  are  ad- 
dressed to  them,  even  with  a  stamped  envelope  for  return  of  the  en- 
quiry, exhibit  their  lack  of  intelligence,  decency,  and  manners  by 
making  no  reply  at  all.  They  might  at  least  say  that  they  did  not  de- 
sire to  give  the  information,  or  that  they  did  not  know  the  name,  or 
what  not.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  such  persons,  even  if  lacking  in  ordi- 
nary civility,  may  at  least  see  that  their  personal  interest  lies  in  the 
reciprocal  interchange  of  information. 

Difficulty  With  Workpeople's  Names. 

The  different  aliases  under  which  many  silk  workers  masquerade 
is  a  troublesome  point.  Much  of  the  difficulty  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
in  a  number  of  Slavic  languages,  and  in  some  others,  there  are  letters 
having  sounds  that  do  not  correspond  with  any  in  the  English  alphabet, 
and,  therefore,  with  the  best  intentions  in  the  world,  a  man  may  be 
in  doubt  how  to  express  his  name  in  writing,  and  may  sometimes  spell 
it  one  way  and  sometimes  another. 

Many  of  the  people  are  quite  illiterate,  and  unable  to  spell  at  all, 
and  others,  seeing  that  they  are  not  understood,  let  their  names  go 
down  in  whatever  way  the  employer  chooses  to  write  them.  This  they 
are  hardly  to  blame  for,  and  much  of  the  trouble  lies  in  the  lack  of 
care  or  patience  used  by  the  mill  superintendents  in  getting  the  com- 
plete names  set  down  right  at  the  outset. 

Signing  of  Employment  Contracts. 

When  new  employees  are  taken  on,  a  useful  method  is  to  have 
them  sign  their  names  in  a  special  book,  each  signature  being  wit- 
nessed, the  witness  signing  in  the  adjoining  column. 

At  the  top  of  every  page  of  this  book  is  printed  a  statement  of 
the  conditions  of  employment;  that  the  employee  represents  himself 
as  being  a  skilled  workman  in  this  or  that  line,  and  undertakes  to  turn 
out  good  and  perfect  work;  the  length  of  time  for  notice  of  leaving 
to  be  given  is  stated;  the  liability  to  fines,  and  their  character;  the 
causes  for  summary  discharge,  and  many  other  debatable  points ;  and, 
as  the  workman  has  agreed  to  them  in  writing,  with  his  signature 
legally  witnessed,  he  is  thus  debarred  from  the  pleasure  of  "having  the 
law  on  his  employer"  whenever  he  happens  to  be  in  an  ugly  mood  over 
something. 

As  each  new  employee  signs  the  book,  a  printed  copy  of  what  he 
has  agreed  to  should  be  given  him,  so  that  he  can  acquaint  himself 
at  his  leisure  with  the  conditions. 

A  Form  of  Contract  that  Has  Worked  Well. 
The  following  form  has  been  in  use  for  years  in  the  mills  of  a  large 
worsted  goods  concern  in  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP  231 

It  is  printed  at  the  top  of  each  page  of  the  book  in  which  all  new 
employees  have  to  sign  their  names,  the  same  being  duly  witnessed  as 
already  described: 

WHEREAS,  We,  the  undersigned,  each  of  us,  have  accepted  em- 
ployment from  &  Co.  as  competent  and  skillful 
operatives  in  the  work  for  which  we  are  engaged,  we  do  hereby  per- 
sonally covenant,  promise,  and  agree  with  them,  the  said 

&  Co.,  to  comply  with  all  future  regulations,  and  submit  to 
all  fines  and  penalties  for  imperfect  work  now  in  force  at  the  time  of 
taking  employment  with  them,  and  to  finish  in  a  good  and  workman- 
like manner  all  work  which  we  each  begin;  and  we  each  of  us  do 
hereby  waive  all  right  to  set  up  as  a  defence  or  excuse  for  imperfect 
work  either  want  of  knowledge  of  the  above-mentioned  fines,  penalties, 
or  regulations,  or  imperfections  or  defects  in  the  materials  or  ma- 
chinery furnished  us;  and  if  we,  or  any  of  us,  quit  or  discontinue  regu- 
lar work  from  any  cause — continued  sickness  excepted,  of  which  we 
will  furnish  a  physician's  certificate  if  required — we  each  discharge 
ourselves,  and  quit  claim  to  re-employment  and  payment  for  any  and 
all  work  we  may  have  done,  left  unfinished,  thereby  forfeiting  to  the 
said  &  Co.  all  pay  for  the  same.  This  agreement 

is  not  to  be  vitiated  by  change  of  style  of  work,  by  discontinuing  and, 
recommencing,  or  by  suspension  and  resumption  of  work;  and  we  each 
hereby  agree  to  surrender  one  week's  pay  if  we  each  do  not  give  that 
much  notice  previous  to  leaving  the  employ  of  said 
&Co. 

The  remainder  of  each  page  under  this  heading  is  divided  into  four 
columns,  headed,  respectively — date — name  of  witness — name  of  em- 
ployee— work  employed  to  do.  These  are  filled  in  as  occasion  de- 
mands. I  was  informed  that  this  method  of  control  had  proved  very 
satisfactory. 

A  Representative  Set  of  Mill  Rules. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  Rules  and  Regulations  that  are  en- 
forced by  one  of  the  great  New  England  mills : 

RULES  AND  REGULATIONS. 

Rule  i.  OVERSEERS  are  required  to  be  promptly  in  their  re- 
spective places  before  the  assembling  of  the  hands,  there  to  remain 
(unless  called  away  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties),  to  see  that  these 
rules  are  maintained  and  obeyed,  that  the  work  of  the  Mill  is  properly 
conducted,  and,  upon  the  closing  of  the  Mill,  to  see  that  all  the  hands 
are  out  and  their  apartments  closed. 

Rule  2.  ALL  EMPLOYEES  must  be  at  their  places  and  be  ready 
to  commence  work  on  time.  They  must  not  leave  their  work,  even  to 


232  QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP 


prepare  for  departure,  till  the  whistle  is  blown.  Persons  violating  this 
rule  will  suffer  a  deduction  from  their  wages  equal  to  double  the 
amount  of  time  lost,  but  no  such  deduction  will  be  less  than  a  half 
hour's  time  for  those  on  day  work,  or  ten  cents  for  those  on  piece  work. 

Rule  ?.  EMPLOYEES^  in  each  department  are  directly  respon- 
sible to  the  Overseer  of  their  special  work,  and  no  person  is  allowed 
to  go  from  one  department  to  another,  except  in  the  performance  of 
duties,  nor  to  leave  the  Mill  during  working  hours  zvithout  consent 
of  the  department  Overseer. 

Rule  4.  Any  person  wilfully  or  carelessly  wasting,  destroying  or 
defacing  property  of  the  Mill  will  be  charged  with  the  same;  and  the 
hands  are  strictly  forbidden  to  handle  or  interfere  with  machinery  not 
directly  under  their  charge.  This  prohibition  applies  especially  to  the 
electric  lighting  apparatus,  the  elevators,  water  supply  and  heating* 
apparatus. 

Rule  5.  EMPLOYEES  commencing  any  work  must  properly 
complete  same  to  be  entitled  to  any  pay. 

Rule  6.  The  following  prohibitions  must  be  absolutely  observed  by 
all  OVERSEERS  and  EMPLOYEES  of  the  Mill: 

The  use  of  Books,  Papers,  or  other  Reading  Matter  during  work- 
ing hours. 

The  use  of  Profane  or  Improper  Language,  Loud  Talking  and 
all  other  needless  noise. 

Smoking  in  or  about  Mill,  or  bringing  in  or  carrying  matches. 

Carrying  out  of  the  Premises  any  material  or  article  whatever  be- 
longing to  the  firm. 

Taking  into  the  Water-Closets  any  Material  used  in  the  Mill, 
especially  Wool  or  Waste. 

Wasting  Time  or  Loitering  in  the  Water-Closets. 

Rule  7.  The  whistle  will  blow  five  minutes  before,  the  gates  will 
be  closed  and  the  engine  started  one  minute  before  the  hour  of  work. 
All  employees  not  in  before  the  gates  are  closed  will  be  considered  as 
being  late,  and  zvill  come  under  the  penalty  provided  in  Rule  2. 

Rule  8.  Wages  will  be  paid  every  two  weeks — always  leaving  six 
days'  earnings  unpaid.  Hands  leaving  our  employ  are  required  to  give 
one  week's  notice,  and  weavers  to  properly  weave  out  their  warps. 
A  failure  to  comply  with  this  provision  will  forfeit  whatever  wages 
may  be  due.  Those  absenting  themselves  from  their  places,  without 
permission  of  the  Overseer  of  their  respective  departments,  will  be 
considered  as  having  left  without  notice,  and  will  suffer  the  said  for- 
feiture of  wages.  The  only  exception  to  this  will  be  in  case  of  sick- 
ness, when  notice  must  be  immediately  sent  to  the  office.  The  pro- 
prietors reserve  the  right  to  discharge  any  person  without  notice  for 
inefficiency,  ill  conduct  or  a  violation  of  these  rules,  and  it  is  hereby 
expressly  agreed  and  understood  that  these  rules  shall  be  and  are  a 


QUESTIONS   RELATING  TO    MILL   HELP  233 


legal  contract  between  the  employer  and  all  persons  accepting 
ployment  in  this  establishment. 


These  rules  may  seem  rather  stiff  to  those  not  accustomed  to  the 
routine  of  mill  life,  but  there  is  more  contentment,  better  work,  and 
greater  profit  for  employee  and  employer  in  mills  when  strict  discipline 
is  maintained  than  in  those  establishments  that  are  run  in  a  haphazard 
manner. 

Local  Associations  of  Manufacturers. 

Local  associations  of  manufacturers  (even  for  a  very  limited  num- 
ber of  objects)  will  be  found  of  much  use  in  the  sifting  out  of  the 
desirable  workpeople  from  the  undesirable.  When  some  one  is  dis- 
missed for  serious  cause,  the  other  members  can  be  advised;  not  that 
they  should  be  obligated  not  to  employ  him,  but  that,  should  they  have 
occasion  to  engage  him,  they  would  hire  him  with  their  eyes  open. 

Blacklisting. 

General  blacklisting  is  injudicious,  as  men  who  might  be  subjects 
for  blacklisting  may  be  quite  prepared  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf  and  to 
do  their  best  in  the  future. 

It  happens,  not  infrequently,  that  men  who  at  some  time  in  their 
careers  have  been  active  leaders  in  strikes  or  other  labor  troubles,  have 
subsequently  come  to  see  the  folly  of  it  all  and  have  afterward  proved 
to  be  the  most  trustworthy  and  dependable  of  men. 

Advantage  of  Concerted  Action. 

The  members  of  these  local  associations,  at  times  of  general  strikes, 
may  agree  upon  a  common  course  of  action  and,  meeting  frequently, 
each  will  be  thoroughly  aware  of  the  position  of  the  others  and  how 
matters  are  going  with  them.  Anyone  who  finds  he  can  no  longer 
act  with  the  rest  should  be  free  to  withdraw  from  his  agreement  to 
do  so,  upon  giving  due  notice  to  the  others,  and  then  all  will  know 
where  they  stand. 

Friendly  Co-operation  in  Certain  Directions. 

Manufacturers,  working  together  in  this  way,  can  also  help  each 
other  quite  a  bit  by  giving  information  as  to  unfair  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  certain  customers,  or  of  those  from  whom  they  buy,  and 
such  warnings  (properly  substantiated,  of  course)  would  be  useful  for 
the  guidance  of  the  others. 

Various  methods  that  might  be  employed  for  the  welfare  of  the 
employees  would  be  proper  subjects  for  consideration  and  joint  action. 

In  the  transmitting  of  information  between  mills,  whether  on  the 
subject  of  help  or  in  other  directions,  it  is  neither  expected  nor  de- 


234  QUESTIONS   RELATING    TO    MILL   HELP 

sired  that  manufacturers  should  speak  of  matters  which  would  reveal 
in  any  way  the  means  that  they  employ  for  the  economical  production 
of  their  goods. 

There  are,  of  course,  those  in  the  trade  who  play  the  part  of  the 
ostrich  with  his  head  in  the  sand,  and  who  are  secretive  to  the  last 
degree,  and,  never  giving  one  any  information,  no  matter  how  harm- 
less, naturally  have  little  told  them  in  return. 

Such  is  not  the  general  rule,  and  it  is  therefore  fair  to  hope  that 
manufacturers  generally  may  see  that,  particularly  in  this  matter  of 
enquiries  as  to  help,  their  interest  is  best  served  by  giving  cheerfully 
and  at  once  the  fullest  information  that  they  can  in  reply  to  enquiries. 


XX 

WELFARE  WORK  AMONG  MILL  OPERATIVES. 


Much  has  been  spoken  and  written  of  late  years  about  welfare  work 
in  mills  or  factories,  and  while  few  people  are  now  disposed  to  ques- 
tion the  advantage  of  it  in  some  directions,  and  to  a  reasonable  degree, 
yet  there  is  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  how  far  it  should  be 
carried. 

While  many  persons  who  have  earnestly  studied  how  they  could 
improve  the  condition  of  their  employees  have  not  been  seeking  any 
material  return  for  their  labors  in  doing  so,  yet,  none  the  less,  these 
efforts  have  often  yielded  a  commercial  reward,  direct  or  indirect. 

Self -Supporting  Propositions. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  fairly  argued  that  everything  done  in  this  line 
ought  to  be,  as  it  were,  self-supporting,  or,  at  any  rate,  should  yield 
to  the  employer  some  tangible  benefit,  sufficiently  definite  to  warrant 
the  expenditure  on  it  of  the  necessary  time  or  money. 

It  is  axiomatic  that  what  costs  one  nothing  is  generally  but  lightly 
regarded,  and  that  anything  that  has  to  be  paid  for  is  much  more 
highly  esteemed. 

State  Legislation. 

Matters  affecting  the  health  of  employees,  of  course,  come  into 
a  different  category,  and  these  matters  are  fairly  well  looked  after  by 
the  laws  of  the  States. 

These  laws,  in  the  main,  provide  that  the  premises  occupied  by  the 
workers  shall  be  safe,  sanitary,  well  ventilated  and  properly  lighted; 
that  there  shall  be  suitable  protection  against  the  risks  of  fire;  that 
overcrowding  is  guarded  against,  and  the  hours  of  labor  of  children 
or  minors,  and  sometimes  of  adults,  are  regulated. 

Most  of  these  matters  would,  in  any  event,  be  arranged  for  by 


236     WELFARE    WORK   AMONG    MILL    OPERATIVES 


the  employers  as  a  matter  of  self  interest,  for,  unless  the  people  have 
reasonably  good  conditions  under  which  to  work,  neither  the  quality 
nor  the  quantity  of  the  product  will  be  satisfactory. 

There  are,  in  addition,  a  number  of  directions  in  which  the  welfare 
of  the  employees  may  be  promoted  by  the  employers,  some  of  them 
looking  toward  an  increased  reward  for  faithful  work,  and  it  is  about 
some  of  these  that  I  desire  to  speak. 

Rewards  for  Faithful  and  Long  Continued  Service, 

Thus,  an  employer  may  pride  himself  on  his  organization  and  on 
the  large  body  of  experienced  and  reliable  men  in  it,  men,  perhaps, 
who  are  good  all  round  weavers,  able  to  handle  any  fabric  that  comes 
up,  and  who  can  also  be  counted  on  to  stick  by.  their  employer  in  time 
of  trouble. 

Compare  such  a  force  with  an  aggregation  of  unreliable  and  in- 
efficient people  and  the  great  value  to  the  employer  of  the  body  of 
good  help  is  apparent. 

This  efficiency  on  their  part  is  due  to  many  years  of  experience, 
coupled  with  good  habits,  industry,  sobriety  and  other  qualities. 

What  recognition  does  the  textile  manufacturer  give  to  such  men 
who  are  the  mainstay  of  his  organization?  He  gives  absolutely  none. 

They  are  paid  at  the  same  piece  work  rates  as  all  the  others,  and 
while  they  will  doubtless  average  a  better  pay  than  the  inefficient 
weavers,  yet  they  will  get  not  a  whit  more  than  those  men,  equally 
smart  but  utterly  untrustworthy,  and  who  may  be  constantly  engaged 
in  stirring  up  trouble. 

Those  valuable  qualities  of  character  and  of  loyalty  the  employers 
take  advantage  of  and  make  no  return  for. 

There  is  a  meanness  about  this,  and  it  is  radically  unfair,  if  not 
dishonest,  to  take  that  which  is  of  value  and  make  no  return. 

In  industries  where  piece  work  rates  do  not  prevail,  these  better- 
class  men  may  be  given  wages  above  the  average,  and  something 
ought  to  be  done  by  textile  manufacturers  to  give  an  express  reward 
to  fidelity  and  continuity  of  service,  and  when  this  is  done  there 
will  doubtless  be  more  fidelity  shewn  than  is  the  case  now  where 
it  pays  no  dividend. 

A  Method  Which  Might  be  Employed. 

While  the  piece  work  rates  could  not  be  changed  for  the  benefit 
of  certain  help,  yet  a  bonus  might  be  paid  at  the  year's  end  of  so 
much  a  month,  beginning  to  be  paid  after  the  people  had  been  em- 
ployed for,  say,  two  years,  and  increasing  each  year  till  a  certain 
maximum  was  reached. 

Thus  the  first  bonus  paid  might  be  at  the  rate  of  $i  a  month, 
$12  being  given  to  the  operative  when  the  payment  was  made. 

The  next  year  he  would  get  $24,  or  $2  a  month,  and  so  on,  in- 


WELFARE    WORK   AMONG    MILL    OPERATIVES    237 

creasing  year  to  year,  till  a  maximum  of,  say,  $100  a  year  was  reached, 
or  whatever  sum  might  be  reasonable  and  proper. 

It  is  entirely  certain  that  proper  financial  recognition  of  experi- 
ence and  reliability  would  not  be  money  ill  spent. 

Sick-Benefit  Societies. 

Another  feature  is  an  employee's  sick-benefit  society,  which,  as 
there  is  no  expenditure  for  anything  but  benefits,  returns  the  whole 
of  the  money  collected  to  the  subscribers,  and  is,  of  course,  cheaper 
than  any  outside  insurance  could  be. 

In  organizing  a  society  of  this  sort  certain  points  must  be  borne 
well  in  mind.  For  one  thing,  the  number  of  the  employees  of  the 
mill  must  be  sufficiently  large,  so  that  if  a  fair  proportion  of  them 
choose  to  join  the  society  they  will  make  a  reasonably  numerous  body, 
in  which  the  cases  of  sickness  will  have  a  chance  to  average  up. 

In  the  next  instance,  care  must  be  taken  to  avoid  coming  into  con- 
flict with  the  Insurance  Laws  of  the  State. 

Necessary  Rules  for  Such  a  Society. 

It  is  very  necessary  that  the  rules  of  the  society  contain  no  feature 
which  could  give  the  contributors  a  sort  of  vested  interest  in  the 
funds,  otherwise  there  would  be  all  kinds  of  trouble  with  those  who 
left  the  employ  of  the  mill. 

Arrangements  should  also  be  made  so  that  the  funds  could  not 
be  used — or  misused — for  other  purposes,  such  as  strike  benefits,  and 
the  dues  should  be  on  a  self -collecting  basis. 

The  direction  should  be  in  the  hands  of  a  committee  representing 
both  employers  and  employees,  and  provision  should  be  made  to  pro- 
tect the  society  from  unwarranted  claims  upon  its  funds. 

A  Plan  Which  Has  Worked  Well. 

A  plan  which  was  entirely  originated  by  the  writer,  and  which 
worked  very  well  in  practice — the  membership  running  from  150  to 
300— ^was  as  follows: 

Three  classes  of  benefits  were  arranged  for.  Class  A  embraced 
all  whose  earnings  averaged  $10  a  week  or  over.  Class  B  took  in 
those  earning  from  $6.50  to  $10  a  week.  Class  C  was  composed  of 
those  earning  less  than  $6.50. 

Class  A  paid  dues  of  15  cents  a  week,  Class  B  paid  10  cents,  and 
Class  C,  5  cents. 

For  sick  benefit  Class  A  received  (I  think)  $7  a  week,  Class  B, 
$4.50,  and  Class  C,  $2.50. 

No  benefit  was  paid  for  sickness  lasting  less  than  one  week,  or 
more  than  eight  weeks  in  the  year. 

In  addition  to  the  sick  benefit  there  was  also  a  provision  for  fu- 
neral expense  in  case  of  death,  which  was  fixed  at  $75,  $50  and  $25 
respectively  for  the  three  classes. 


238     IV  ELF  ARE    WORK   AMONG   MILL    OPERATIVES 

Details  of  the  Management. 

Employees  had  to  have  been  working  in  the  mill  for  at  least  a 
month  to  be  eligible  for  membership  and  had  to  be  in  visibly  good 
health. 

Arrangements  were  made  with  a  local  physician  by  which,  for  a 
very  moderate  charge,  he  would  call  and  report  on  any  member  claim- 
ing to  be  sick,  and  in  such  instances  the  officers  would  also  designate 
two  members  to  act  as  a  visiting  committee. 

As  prompt  notification  of  illness  had  also  to  be  given,  these  meas- 
ures prevented  any  improper  leakage  of  the  funds,  and  the  benefits 
were  never  high  enough  to  tempt  many  persons  to  stay  at  home  in 
idleness. 

The  direction  was  in  the  hands  of  a  committee  of  five,  four  being 
mill  hands  elected  by  the  society,  and  the  fifth  the  mill  bookkeeper, 
appointed  by  the  mill,  who  acted  as  treasurer  and  banked  the  money 
in  a  special  fund,  and  it  could  only  be  drawn  on  his  signature,  coun- 
tersigned by  the  chairman. 

Orders  for  payment  of  benefits  had  to  be  signed  by  a  majority  of 
the  committee,  and  against  these  vouchers  the  treasurer  drew  cheques 
for  the  money.  This  control  effectively  prevented  any  misdirection 
of  the  funds. 

Members  had  to  agree  that  dues  were  to  be  withheld  from  their 
pay,  and,  when  the  pay  envelopes  were  being  filled,  printed  colored 
tickets,  serving  as  receipts,  were  enclosed  to  cover  the  dues  retained. 

In  this  way  the  payments  were  always  self  collecting  and  there 
was  no  trouble  with  unpaid  dues. 

It  was  considered  judicious,  in  the  case  of  employees,  who  had 
to  be  discharged,  to  return  to  them  the  two  last  payments  that  they 
had  made,  so  that  there  could  be  no  grumbling  on  that  score.  Mem- 
bership ceased  with  employment. 

After  the  organization  of  the  society  those  entering  it  paid  a  fee 
of  75  cents  for  Class  A,  50  cents  for  Class  B,  and  25  cents  for  Class  C. 

Members  were  free  to  resign  at  any  time.  So  long  as  they  paid 
they  had  a  current  insurance,  and  the  insurance  ceased  with  their 
payments. 

A  Constitution  and  By-Laws,  covering  the  foregoing  and  many 
other  points,  were  adopted,  and  were  published  in  a  small  booklet  for 
distribution. 

Suspicious  Attitude  of  Employees. 

When  a  proposition,  such  as  the  above,  is  evolved,  it  is  apt  to  be 
very  suspiciously  looked  upon  by  the  employees,  who  generally  seem 
to  imagine  that  anything  new  that  is  proposed  has  been  devised  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  something  away  from  them.  This  feeling  is 
doubtless  the  inheritance  of  the  injustice  that  was  so  commonly  prac- 
tised towards  workingmen  in  times  past. 


WELFARE    WORK   AMONG   MILL    OPERATIVES    239 

On  this  account  it  is  not  likely  at  first  to  make  rapid  headway, 
but  when  well  established  it  attracts  members  fast  and  is  much  valued 
by  the  employees. 

With  a  sufficiently  large  membership,  and  worked  on  lines  similar 
to  the  above,  it  should  not  only  pay  its  way  but  should  accumulate 
a  nice  surplus. 

Cooking  and  Dressmaking  Classes. 

Another  direction  in  which  interest  can  be  shown  in  the  people 
is  by  the  establishment  of  classes  in  cooking,  and  dressmaking,  for 
the  women. 

If  the  mill  has  at  its  command  a  space  suitable  for  the  purpose 
it  can  be  provided  with  the  necessary  equipment,  and  teachers  could 
be  arranged  for. 

The  teachers  might  be  paid,  say,  $3  for  giving  a  lesson,  which 
could  be  on  one  evening  a  week  for  the  cooking,  and  on  another 
evening  for  the  dressmaking,  and  a  charge  of,  say,  10  cents  a  lesson 
could  be  made,  so  that  a  class  of  thirty  would  pay  the  cost  of  the 
teacher. 

The  use  of  the  premises,  fuel,  lights,  etc.,  would  be  but  a  trifling 
expense  to  the  mill. 

Money  Saved  Almost  Like  Increased  Pay. 

Now  it  is  true  that  no  direct  return  comes  to  the  employer  from 
introducing  such  teaching,  yet  there  is  a  distinct  indirect  benefit. 

Mill  workers,  in  large  part,  not  being  trained  to  household  duties, 
are  apt  to  be  extremely  ignorant  on  the  subject  of  preparing  food, 
and  are  also  lacking  in  the  knowledge  of  how  to  make  clothes  for 
themselves  or  their  children. 

If,  now,  they  were  taught  how  to  do  these  things  they  would 
be  able  to  live  better  and  on  less  money  by  knowing  how  to  avoid 
waste  and  to  make  the  most  of  the  supplies  and  materials  at  their 
command. 

A  dollar  a  week,  no  inconsiderable  sum,  might  easily  be  saved 
to  'a  family  through  this  means,  and,  so  far  as  the  comfort  of  the 
worker  was  concerned,  it  would  b.e  the  equivalent  of  an  advance  in 
pay  of  an  equal  amount,  and  so,  without  any  increase  in  wages,  the 
body  of  workers  would  be  much  more  contented  with  the  pay  they 
were  getting. 

Earnings  of  Silk  Workers  in  Anthracite  Regions. 
The  following  figures  were  quoted  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Lauck,  in  an 
article  in  "Silk,"  May,  1911,  as  being  extracted  from  a  report  of  the 
United  States  Government  dealing  with  a  study  of  the  conditions 
prevailing  among  the  operatives  of  silk  mills  located  in  the  anthracite 
coal  mining  communities. 


240    WELFARE    WORK   AMONG   MILL    OPERATIVES 

"The  average  earnings  in  the  silk  mills  of  native  American  men, 
18  years  of  age  or  over,  were  $12.24  weekly;  of  immigrant  males  of 
the  same  age,  $12.39,  an^  °f  men  °f  native  birth  but  of  foreign  father, 
$io.pi  each  week.  For  native  American  women,  18  years  of  age  or 
over,  the  average  weekly  earnings  were  only  $5-52;  for  foreign-born 
women  of  the  same  age  group,  $5.57,  and  for  women  of  the  second 
generation  or  of  native  birth  but  of  foreign  father,  $5.82.  The  aver- 
age weekly  earnings  of  all  female  operatives,  18  years  of  age  or  older, 
were  $5.71. 

"Information  was  also  secured  relative  to  the  earnings  of  operatives 
who  were  14  but  under  18  years  of  age.  Of  the  males  of  this  age 
classification,  the  native  Americans  earned  $4.31  weekly;  the  immi- 
grants, $4.68,  and  the  second  generation  of  immigrants,  $4.26.  The 
earnings  of  girls  of  the  same  ages  were  considerably  less.  The  na- 
tive American  girls,  14  but  under  18  years  of  age,  have  average 
weekly  earnings  of  $3*65,  the  foreign-born  girls  of  the  same  age  group, 
$3-75  eacn  week,  and  girls  of  the  second  generation  of  immigrants, 
$3-77-  Of  all  the  girl  employees  between  the  ages  of  14  and  18  years, 
only  1 2. i  per  cent,  earned  more  than  $5.00,  and  1.2  per  cent,  above 
$7-5°  each  week.  \The  average  weekly  earnings  of  Polish  girls,  141 
but  under  18  years  of  age,  were  $3.87  and  about  one-fourth  of  the  en- 
tire number  investigated  had  earnings  each  week  above  $5.00." 

Prizes  for  Suggestions. 

Another  feature  designed  to  stimulate  the  interest  of  the  employees, 
and  one  which  has  met  with  much  success  in  its  application,  is  the 
offering  of  a  series  of  prizes  for  the  best  suggestions  for  improve- 
ments in  the  business,  made  by  the  employees. 

Here  are  hundreds  of  pairs  of  eyes  watching  the  complicated  work 
of  the  mill,  and  if  they  can  be  induced  to  take  an  interest  in  observing 
things  many  a  profitable  suggestion  will  be  made  which  otherwise 
would  never  have  been  elicited. 

It  frequently  happens  that  when  an  ordinary  worker  does  have 
some  valuable  suggestion  to  make  he  puts  the  matter  before  his  fgre- 
man,  and  the  latter  may  in  turn  put  it  up  to  the  manager  as  being 
his  own  idea  and  so  reaps  all  the  credit  of  it.  Hence,  the  workman 
is  discouraged  from  using  his  observation. 

There  are  many  directions  in  which  suggestions  of  great  value  may 
be  made.  The  avoidance  or  minimizing  of  waste,  the  arrangement 
of  work  so  as  to  get  the  job  done  with  less  labor,  improvements  in 
processes,  means  whereby  production  could  be  increased,  etc.,  etc. 

To  give  a  concrete  instance:  In  a  business  in  which  this  system 
of  rewards  was  in  force,  the  concern  used  annually  an  immense  num- 
ber of  printed  forms  of  a  size  and  shape  that  they  had  used  for  years. 

One  of  the  clerks  took  the  trouble  to  compare  the  sizes  of  the 
various  printed  forms  used,  with  the  sizes  of  the  sheets  from  which 


WELFARE    WORK   AMONG    MILL    OPERATIVES    241 

the  printer  cut  them,  and  he  was  able  to  show  that,  by  a  slight  modi- 
fication of  the  shape,  an  additional  form  could  be  cut  from  the  same 
sheet  and  much  waste  could  be  thereby  avoided.  He  received  a  prize, 
of  course. 

These  prizes  may  be  as  few  or  as  many  as  desired,  and  may  range 
from  $10  to,  say,  $100. 

They  are  given  for  such  suggestions  as  are  adopted,  and  anyone 
may  make  as  many  as  he  pleases,  and  they  should  be  open  to  every 
one  except  the  manager. 

To  assure  that  credit  be  given  to  the  proper  party  a  suggestion 
box  is  fixed  up,  the  only  key  being  in  the  hands  of  the  manager.  Sug- 
gestions are  made  on  special  record  slips,  in  duplicate,  one  being  put 
in  the  box  and  the  other  retained  by  the  writer  as  a  proof  of  his 
authorship. 

The  general  experience,  when  this  method  has  been  applied,  has 
been  that  the  few  hundred  dollars  per  year  paid  in  prizes  has  resulted 
in  economies  running  into  thousands. 

Plan  for  Eliciting  Suggestions. 

I  worked  out  a  suitable  plan  for  this  purpose,  and  am  presenting 
herewith  the  notice  which  was  prepared  for  the  occasion,  and  which 
outlines  the  details  of  the  proposition. 

NOTICE. 
Prizes  for  Suggestions. 

There  will  be  awarded  at  the  end  of  the  present  year  $250.00  in 
prizes,  to  be  given  to  those  of  our  employees  who  will  make,  during 
that  time,  such  suggestions  to  the  Company  as  will  lead  to  economies 
of  time,  labor  and  material;  to  an  increase  of  production;  to  im- 
provements in  the  systems  and  methods  at  present  in  use;  and  to  the 
increasing  of  the  perfection  of  the  manufactured  goods. 

These  prizes  are  offered  as  an  inducement  to  our  employees  to  help 
us  with  their  ideas  as  to  how,  in  every  department,  things  may  be 
done  better,  material  or  labor  saved,  and  output  increased  and  im- 
proved. They  are  open  to  every  employee  of  the  mills,  from  the 
lowest  to  the  highest,  and  wherever  any  one  sees  hozv  any  improve- 
ment can  be  made,  we  invite  an  immediate  suggestion  to  that  effect. 

The  person  making  the  suggestion  will  write  it  out  on  the  form 
provided  for  that  purpose  beside  the  suggestion  box,  and  will  drop  the 
original  into  the  box,  retaining  the  duplicate  himself.  In  this  way 
the  suggestion  will  come  direct  from  the  person  making  it  to  the  office, 
so  that  every  person  making  a  suggestion  will  be  sure  to  get  full  credit 
for  the  same. 

These  suggestions  will  be  carefully  recorded  and  such  as  seem  to 
have  merit  will  be  tried.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  Company  will 
decide  as  to  whom  the  prizes  shall  be  given,  and  will  make  public 


242     WELFARE    WORK   AMONG    MILL    OPERATIVES 

announcement  of  same,  with  a  statement  as  to  what  the  suggestions 
were  for  which  the  prizes  were  awarded. 

Each  person  is  not  limited  to  one  prize,  but  may  receive  as  many 
of  the  prises  as  the  usefulness  of  his  or  her  suggestion  may  warrant. 

Prises  will  be  as  follows: 

One  first    prize  of  $75.00. 


One  second 
One  third 
One  fourth 
Two  fifth 
Four  sixth 


60.00. 
50.00. 
25.00. 

10.00. 

5-oo. 


Every  suggestion,  no  matter  by  whom  made,  will  receive  careful 
consideration. 

Should  the  winner  of  a  prize  have  left  the  mills  before  its  award 
it  will  be  forwarded  to  him,  and  should  he  die  his  family  will  receive  it. 

(Signed) 

THE-         —SILK   MILLS. 

Profit  Sharing. 

Again,  it  is  a  very  useful  thing  to  interest  the  important  mill  peo- 
ple in  the  profits  of  the  business  in  some  manner.  There  are  a  good 
many  people  in  every  manufacturing  organization  whose  intelligent  in- 
terest and  conscientious  efforts  have  much  to  do  with  its  ability  to 
earn  dividends. 

Such  people  would  be  the  superintendent,  and  the  assistant  super- 
intendent, the  head  designer,  the  head  bookkeeper,  the  chief  engineer, 
the  loom  boss  or  head  loom  fixer,  as  well  as  the  other  loom  fixers, 
the  foremen  of  the  warping,  winding,  quilling,  and  others. 

If,  now,  a  certain  fixed  per  cent,  of  the  net  earnings  can  annually 
be  set  aside  as  a  bonification  for  these  people  it  has  a  marked  effect 
upon  their  attitude  toward  the  business.  Its  interest  is  now  their  in- 
terest and  the  results  are  soon  apparent. 

When  a  mill  is  making  good  earnings  this  sum  might  properly 
amount  to,  say,  25  per  cent,  of  their  annual  compensation,  and  being 
paid  semi-annually  would  be  an  immense  stimulant. 

Many  other  things  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  minds  of  all  who 
give  the  subject  attention,  but  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  efforts  to 
benefit  others  are  more  often  met  with  suspicion  and  criticism  than 
with  thanks,  so  we  must  not  look  for  much  appreciation  of  our  pains. 


XXI 

THE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  MILLS  AND 
THEIR  COMMISSION  HOUSES 


The  commission-house  system,  as  it  exists  in  this  country  in  its 
various  forms,  is  the  outgrowth  of  peculiar  conditions,  and,  like  all 
other  institutions,  its  methods  and  practice  change  somewhat  from  time 
to  time. 

In  this  article  it  is  my  intention  to  discuss,  for  the  benefit  of 
manufacturers,  certain  features  of  the  relationship  existing  between 
the  mills  and  these  selling  houses. 

High  Class  of  Men  Engaged  in  the  Business. 
The  gentlemen  engaged  in  the  dry-goods  commission  business  stand 
second  to  none  in  point  of  integrity  and  ability,  and  in  pointing  out 
customs  that  are  currently  accepted  as  proper  practices  I  do  not  desire 
to  be  understood  as  criticising  the  personal  fairness  of  these  gentlemen, 
or  their  desire  to  do  right — as  they  understand  it. 

Functions  of  a  Commission  House. 

A  commission  house  performs  for  its  mills  the  functions  of  banker, 
adviser  as  to  styles  and  fabrics,  selling  agent,  guarantor  of  credits, 
etc. 

The  employment  of  a  commission  house  is  due  to  the  lack  of 
sufficient  capital  on  the  part  of  a  mill  to  carry  its  own  credits,  and  to 
the  inability  of  many  mills  to  properly  handle  their  own  goods. 

The  capital  that  a  mill  will  require  to  finance  its  own  accounts 
will  largely  depend  on  the  terms  current  in  the  trade.  Silks  and 
dress  goods  are  sold  on  about  70  days'  time,  cottons  on  2  to  4  months, 
men's  wear  and  cloakings  on  about  six  months,  and  overcoatings  even 
longer,  as  much  as  10  to  13  months  having  been  given  at  times. 


244        MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

To  these  lengths  of  time  must  be  added  the  period  that  they  are) 
carried  in  stock,  after  manufacture,  till  their  delivery  date,  and  during 
all  this  time  the  mill  would  be  out  of  pocket  the  full  cost  of  such  pro- 
duction, except  for  such  bills  as  were  discounted. 

Relation  Between  Capital  and  Turnover. 

The  capital  required  to  run  a  textile  mill  is  very  great,  and  most 
mills  will  not  turn  their  capital  more  than  one-and-a-half  to  one-and- 
two-third  times  each  year,  and  if  they  turn  it  twice  they  are  doing 
exceptionally  well.  Thus,  a  mill  employing  a  capital  of  $600,000 — 
owned,  borrowed,  or  owed  for  materials,  etc. — should  not,  to  be  safe, 
have  an  out-turn  of  more  than  $900,000  to  $1,200,000  net,  a  year.  If, 
in  addition,  it  carried  all  its  own  credits  to  maturity,  the  capital  re- 
quired would  be  greater,  and,  if  it  discounted  its  raw  material  bills, 
greater  still. 

By  financing  through  a  commission  house,  the  unduly  enlarged  fa- 
cilities given  in  the  way  of  advances  and  cashing  of  sales,  enables 
overtrading  to  be  done  to  such  an  extent  as  to  constantly  keep  mills, 
accepting  the  full  limit  of  these  facilities,  in  a  dangerously  spread-out 
condition,  and,  in  this  event,  they  are  ever  at  the  mercy  of  their  factors. 

If  business  had  to  be  done  within  the  limitations  of  their  own 
capital,  they  would  not  be  able  to  grant  extended  credit  to  their  cus- 
tomers, and  terms  would  be  on  a  saner  basis. 

As  it  is  now,  the  long  credit  that  is  given  by  the  mill,  or  its 
factors,  to  the  clothing  manufacturer,  for  instance,  is  passed  on  by 
him  to  the  retailer,  and  thus  the  latter  is  doing  business  on  the  manu- 
facturer's capital  without  cost  to  himself. 

The  Old  Basis  of  Note  Settlement. 

Prior  to  the  Civil  War,  note  settlement  for  purchases  was  the 
general  rule,  and  if  this  were  the  case  to-day  financing  a  mill  would 
be  much  easier,  and  a  man  would  then  have  some  paper  to  take  to 
his  bank  for  discount,  while,  as  it  is,  he  has  only  his  ledger  accounts 
to  show. 

If  the  banking  system  were  differently  organized  here,  manufac- 
turers could,  no  doubt,  get  the  proper  assistance  in  handling  their 
accounts  from  regular  bankers.  As  it  is,  the  only  mills  which  can 
get  from  banks  what  they  need  are  those  who  are  so  rich  that  they 
could  own  a  bank  or  two  themselves  if  they  wished. 

Facilities  for  Discount  Afforded  by  English  and  Canadian  Banks. 

When  an  English  or  Canadian  bank  accepts  a  customer's  account, 
it  usually  agrees  to  discount,  on  presentation,  all  commercial  paper 
received  by  the  customer,  without  question.  The  argument  is  that 
the  customer  would  not  take  a  note  unless  he  felt  sure  it  was  good, 
and  as  he  has  to  stand  back  of  it  himself,  the  chance  of  loss  to  the 
bank  is  negligible.  This  is  in  addition  to  giving  the  customer  very 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        245 

liberal  lines  of  discount  on  his  own  paper.  Therefore,  where  notes 
are  accepted  by  banks,  as  checks  would  be,  people  both  take  and 
give  them  freely,  as  the  notes  coming  in  .will  take  care  of  those  ma- 
turing, and  thus  business,  in  effect,  is  very  nearly  on  a  cash  basis, 
because  there  the  banker  fulfils  his  proper  function  as  an  intermediary 
in  the  exchange  of  commodities.  A  friend  of  mine,  who  has  large 
lumber  mill  interests  in  Ottawa,  Canada,  and  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  told 
me  that  he  was  able  to  do  four  times  the  business  in  Canada  that  he 
could  do  in  New  York  on  the  same  capital,  owing  to  the  banking 
arrangements  there. 

In  recent  years  some  banks  here,  and  other  financial  institutions, 
have  supplied  facilities  to  manufacturers  for  financing  their  own  af- 
fairs by  advancing  certain  amounts  on  their  open  accounts,  and  making 
collections  of  the  bills  when  due;  but  not  very  many  mills  have  been 
able  to  avail  themselves  of  these  facilities,  and  there  are  some  draw- 
backs to  this  method. 

Why  the  Commission  House  has  Come  into  Being. 
As  the  banks,  therefore,  fail  to  afford  to  manufacturers  the  sup- 
port required,  the  commission  house  has  come  into  being,  and  were  it 
not  that  it  provides  banking  facilities  it  would  not  exist.  In  addition 
to  cashing  the  sales  made,  one  of  its  great  functions  is  that  of  a  money 
lender  in  making  advances  on  manufactured  goods  sent  to  it  for  sale. 

Serious  Drawbacks  to  the  System. 

While  called  into  -being  to  perform  these  necessary  services  for 
the  mills,  services,  be  it  remarked,  of  great  value  and  which  should 
be  properly  paid  for,  it  is  much  to  be  deplored  that,  in  certain  direc- 
tions, its  development  has  been  such  that  it  leads  to  practices  of  a 
kind  distinctly  injurious  to  the  trade. 

It  aids  small  and  weak  people  to  embark  in  manufacturing  on  a 
scale  utterly  incommensurate  with  their  capital;  it  conduces  to  the 
general  acceptance  of  cancellations,  claims,  and  return  of  goods,  that 
would  not  be  acquiesced  in  by  mills  independently  situated;  to  the 
imposing  of  charges  and  losses  on  the  mills  which  should  not  equitably 
be  placed  on  them,  but  which  they  are  powerless  to  resist;  to  the 
temptation  offered  to  mills  to  make  goods  for  advances,  with  a  subse- 
quent slaughtering  of  them  at  heavy  loss;  to  the  conflict  of  the  in- 
terests of  various  accounts  when  handled  under  one  roof;  and  in 
many  other  ways. 

The  General  Unprofitableness  of  Textile  Manufacturing. 
In  witness  of  this  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  in  no  industry  is 
there  more  ability  or  experience  required  than  in  the  management  of 
textile  mill  interests ;  or  more  technical  skill  on  the  part  of  the  work- 
ers ;  or  more  improved  machinery ;  or  greater  specializing  and  organi- 
zation at  the  producing  end;  or  a  more  complex  system  of  distribu- 


246        MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

tion;  or  a  greater  amount  of  capital  employed.  Yet  what  do  we  see 
year  by  year?  Why,  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  the  failures  in  the 
textile  manufacturing  trades  have  been  appalling,  both  in  number 
and  size;  and  how  many  mills  make  real  money,  that  is,  money  that 
can  be  withdrawn  from  the  business? 

Who  are  the  gentlemen  who  can  buy  expensive  yachts,  and  pur- 
chase New  York  city  property,  improved  or  unimproved;  who  buy 
large  interests  in  banks,  railways,  mines,  or  what  not  ?  Are  the  names 
of  silk  or  woolen  manufacturers  conspicuous  among  them?  To  ask 
the  question  answers  it.  Manufacturers,  as  a  class,  are  not  fools, 
and  there  is  something  wrong  with  underlying  causes  when  a  great 
industry  has  to  be  conducted  without  adequate  profit. 

The  Good  Work  of  Some  Commission  Houses. 

It  is  quite  true  that  some  commission  houses,  owing  to  the  excellent 
judgment  and  ability  of  their  partners  and  department  men,  have  done 
admirably  for  their  mills — far  better  than  many  of  the  mills  could  have 
done  for  themselves.  They  have  kept  them  sold  up  most  of  the  time 
on  profitable  goods,  have  advised  them  well,  assisted  them  in  the  pur- 
chase of  raw  materials  and  what  not;  and  have  generally  taken  care 
of  them. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  will  cite  two  instances  that  occurred  a  number 
of  years  ago. 

Two  Interesting  Incidents. 

A  gentleman  of  my  acquaintance  went  into  a  large  commission 
house,  which,  among  other  goods,  carried  a  line  of  fancy  cloakings, 
and  he  was  waiting  to  see  one  of  the  partners  who  was  engaged  in 
laying  out  work  with  the  owner  of  the  cloaking  mill.  He  was  so 
near  that  everything  they  said  could  be  heard,  and,  after  the  partner 
had  mapped  out  orders  for  800  pieces  of  extreme  styles,  and  the 
cloaking  manufacturer  had  gone,  my  friend,  who  was  familiar  with  the 
trade,  asked  him  why  on  earth  he  was  allowing  those  goods  to  be 
made,  remarking  that  there  would  probably  be  a  smart  loss  on  every 
yard.  The  reply  was  that  everything  that  came  in  there  earned  interest 
and  commissions  for  the  house,  no  matter  what  price  it  brought,  and  if 
one  mill  failed  they  knew  where  there  were  plenty  of  others. 

It  is  interesting  to  recall  that  when  this  mill  did  fail,  not  long  after, 
with  a  huge  stock  of  unsold  goods,  the  price  that  they  realized  was 
so  extremely  low  that  the  commission  men  suffered  a  tremendous  loss 
on  the  advances  they  had  made,  though  they  thought  they  were  amply 
secured. 

The  other  was  the  case  of  a  woolen  commission  house,  which,  being 
in  a  tight  corner  for  money  to  meet  some  notes,  took  a  large  line  /of 
quite  salable  goods  and  sold  them  for  cash,  at  about  30  per  cent,  less 
than  their  value,  so  as  to  raise  funds.  They  then  wrote  the  mill  that 
as  these  goods  had  been  advanced  on,  and  the  season  was  getting  late, 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        247 

they  had  thought  it  best  for  all  parties  to  accept  an  offer  made  them, 
etc.,  etc.  The  mill  did  not,  of  course,  know  the  facts  and  had  to 
swallow  it.  These  were  probably  very  unusual  cases,  but  they  were 
the  outcome  of  the  system,  and  *hey  occurred  absolutely  as  stated. 

Necessity  of  Comprehensive  Written  Agreements. 

Many  mills  send  their  goods  to  commission  houses  for  sale  without 
a  proper  written  agreement  covering  all  points,  and  many  questions 
crop  up  on  which,  in  default  of  express  agreement,  "the  custom  of  the 
trade"  will  be  binding,  and  this  custom  is  generally  favorable  to  the 
selling  agent. 

Furthermore,  the  seller  is  the  agent  of  the  mill,  and,  within  certain 
limits,  his  acts  bind  the  mill  unless  they  contravene  the  written  terms 
of  the  agreement. 

The  practice  of  the  domestic  commission  houses,  whose  businesses 
are  centred  in  the  Worth  Street  district,  and  the  so-called  foreign 
importing  and  commission  houses  which  are  located  in  the  Fourth 
Avenue  section,  differs  materially.  The  forms  of  the  contracts  of 
different  commission  houses  differ,  and  the  arrangements  that  they 
make  with  their  various  mills  differ  also.  It  is  a  case  of  get  all 
you  can. 

Large  mills,  whose  business  is  of  great  value,  and  consequently 
sought  after,  are  in  a  position  to  debate  with  the  commission  house 
the  terms  that  they  will  agree  to;  but  the  smaller  men  have  to  sign 
whatever  sort  of  contract  is  given  them,  or  go  elsewhere  to  meet  the 
same  conditions,  and  they  suffer  in  many  ways  in  consequence. 

The  view  of  selling  agents  seems  to  be  that  no  loss  of  any  sort 
should  fall  on  them,  except  bad  debts  that  they  have  guaranteed  against, 
and  they  will  say  that  if  they  should  be  required  to  stand  certain  losses 
to  which  I  will  refer  later  (caused  largely  by  their  own  action  or 
inaction),  that  their  commission  should  be  higher.  This  by  no  means 
follows.  They  should  protect  not  only  themselves,  but  their  manu- 
facturers, against  avoidable  losses. 

How  Mushroom  Concerns  are  Encouraged  to  Start. 

Selling  agents  are  generally  seeking  new  business,  and  their  de- 
partment men  are  always  eagerly  searching  for  new  accounts  that  they 
can  attach  to  themselves.  They,  therefore,  are  led  to  encourage  those 
who  ought  never  to  start  in  business,  to  start. 

Most  mill  employees  think  (as  do  most  salesmen  in  the  market, 
for  that  matter)  that  as  long  as  wheels  are  turning  in  a  mill  lots  of 
money  is  being  made,  and  many  of  them  are  looking  for  a  chance  to 
start  for  themselves.  A  boss  weaver  and  a  warper  foreman  may  each 
have  saved  some  money,  and  between  them  may  have,  say,  $5,000. 
They  put  their  heads  together  and  conclude  to  see  what  they  can  do. 
One  of  them  knows  some  salesman,  and  they  ask  him  what  are  the 
prospects  at  the  selling  end.  He  jumps  at  the  chance  of  securing  an 


248        MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 


account,  and  tells  them  that  prospects  are  splendid;  that  he  can  put 
them  on  most  profitable  goods  right  off,  and  sell  every  yard  they  can 
make.  Perhaps  he  introduces  them  to  one  of  the  heads  of  his  house, 
and  he,  in  turn,  gives  them  a  "hot-air"  talk,  deals  in  generalities,  tells 
them  that  his  firm  will  be  glad  to  handle  the  account,  will  give  them 
every  facility  for  sale,  and  will  make  liberal  advances  on  their  goods, 
and  so  sends  them  away  with  great  hopes.  They  then  arrange  to 
rent  a  loft  with  power,  buy  some  second-hand  preparatory  machinery 
at  a  low  price,  and  order  about  fifty  looms.  The  loom  builder  will  fur- 
nish them  at,  say  10  per  cent,  cash  and  10  per  cent,  a  month  till  paid 
for,  title  not  to  pass  till  last  payment  is  made.  They  get  credit  for  a 
few  bales  of  silk  from  one  of  the  houses  which  cater  to  such  trade, 
and  in  a  short  time  start  up. 

Here,  then,  is  a  mill  of  fifty  looms  started  on  a  capital  of  $5,000, 
which  is  just  enough  to  properly  run  5  looms,  or,  even  through  a 
commission  house  (if  on  a  safe  basis),  10  looms  at  the  most.  The 
output  of  such  a  mill  will  be  about  $100,000  a  year,  and  the  concern 
is  consequently  tied  up,  neck  and  heels,  with  the  selling  agent,  and  is 
absolutely  dependent  on  the  weekly  advances  to  take  care  of  necessary 
payments.  They  cannot  stop,  as  stoppage  would  mean  liquidation,  and 
liquidation  would  mean  failure.  They  are  therefore  often  forced  to 
consent  to  sales  at  prices  and  terms  which,  if  they  were  untrammeled, 
they  would  not  accept,  and  the  damage  that  is  caused  to  the  market 
prices  of  all  goods,  with  which  they  and  their  numerous  fellows  com- 
pete, is  incalculable. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  generally  find,  after  they  are  started,  that 
the  best  they  can  do  is  to  get  a  new  dollar  for  an  old  one,  and  so  they 
struggle  along,  most  of  them  failing  after  a  run  of  but  a  very  few 
years,  others  simply  existing,  while  of  course,  here  and  there,  one 
succeeds. 

Where  the  Interests  of  the  Mill  and  its  Factors  arc  at  Variance. 
Some  commission  houses  encourage  these  mushroom  growths,  as 
what  they  are  after  is  commissions  on  sales,  and  they  care  little  if  the 
mills  do  not  make  money,  though,  of  course,  they  do  not  want  them  to 
lose  too  much  and  fail,  as  then  they  would  stop  producing  goods. 
Thus,  a  quick,  easy  sale  of  a  lot  of  goods  at  fifty  cents  a  yard  would 
suit  the  agents  much  better  than  the  slow  and  laborious  peddling  of 
them  out  at  sixty  cents,  as  all  that  they  would  lose  would  be  their 
commission  on  the  difference,  while  the  difference  in  the  price  obtained 
would  be  a  matter  of  life  or  death  to  the  mill. 

Points  of  View  of  Loom  Builder  and  Raw-silk  Dealer. 

The  loom  builder  helps,  also,  because  it  is  for  his  interest  to  do 

so,  for  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  the  first  few  payments  will  be  met, 

and  if  he  has  then  to  take  back  his  looms  and  repaint  and  resell  them 

he  will  make  no  loss.     On  the  other  hand,  if  the  mill  grows  it  will 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        249 

follow  on  with  installations  of  the  same  kind  of  looms,  and  will  be  a 
steady  customer  of  that  builder. 

The  raw-silk  or  thrown-silk  merchants  who  give  credit  argue  in  a 
similar  manner,  and  if  the  mill  does  well  they  will  continue  to  supply 
it  with  much  of  the  silk  needed. 

Representation  of  Undercapitalized  Looms  Should  be  Refused 

If  commission  houses  would  resolutely  decline  to  sell  for,  or  make 
advances  to,  any  mills,  large  or  small,  that  were  not  supplied  with 
proper  working  capital  for  the  loomage  operated,  very  few  of  them 
would  come  into  being,  and  the  trade  would  be  saved  from  many  evils 
due  to  this  cause. 

Most  of  the  men,  too,  who  start  up  in  this  way,  would  give  their 
eye  teeth  if  they  could  get  out  of  it  with  their  money  as  soon  as  they 
find  by  experience  the  conditions  they  have  to  meet,  but  it  is  then  too 
late;  they  must  sink  or  swim.  To  prevent  them  from  ever  starting 
up  would  keep  them  from  wasting  their  savings,  and  becoming  factors 
in  trade  demoralization. 

There  are  some  selling  agents,  of  course,  who  will  not  handle  such 
accounts,  just  as  there  are  those  who  strenuously  urge  their  mills  not 
to  make  goods  for  .stock,  for  stock  goods,  as  a  rule,  make  heavy  losses 
for  mills.  One  merchant  of  my  acquaintance  has  often  told  me  that 
he  would  as  soon  see  a  live  rattlesnake  come  into  his  store  as  a  case 
of  goods  that  was  not  sold.  When  trade  is  dull,  however,  many  agents 
are  not  unwilling  to  see  stock  goods  made,  as,  whatever  the  price  they 
go  at,  they  will  get  their  commission,  while,  if  looms  stand,  there  will 
be  just  so  much  less  to  sell,  and  the  volume  of  their  sales  will  suffer 
accordingly. 

Commissions  Charged,  and  What  They  Include. 

I  will  now  refer  to  some  of  the  points  about  which  questions  may 
arise,  and  which  should  in  all  cases  be  clearly  understood  by  both 
parties,  and  the  agreements  arrived  at  should  be  put  into  writing  and 
signed. 

The  commission  charged  by  a  selling  agent  is  intended  to  provide 
for  such  expenses  as  rent  for  space  occupied,  salaries  of  manager  and 
salesmen,  porterage,  trucking,  packing  and  delivery  expense,  clerical 
force  in  counting  house,  general  expense,  fire  insurance,  storage,  guar- 
antee of  credits,  and  profit  to  the  house. 

For  the  above  services,  and  according  to  the  character  of  the  goods, 
varying  commissions  are  charged,  ranging  from  4  per  cent.,  or  even 
lower,  for  cottons,  up  to  7  per  cent,  for  woolens,  dress  goods,  silks, 
etc.,  and  some  unfortunates  are  charged  as  much  as  7^2  per  cent.,  or 
maybe  higher.  Seven  per  cent,  on  the  net  returns  of  the  goods  is 
generally  regarded  as  full  commission.  There  are  instances  where 
houses,  having  undertaken  to  sell  goods  at  7  per  cent,  commission, 
have  charged  it  on  the  gross  sales  instead  of  the  net,  a  most  inde- 


250        MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

fensible  practice,  and  one  which,  unless  specifically  understood  by  the 
manufacturer,  and  so  specified  in  the  agreement,  should  be  firmly 
resisted. 

The  7  per  cent,  commission  is  supposed  to  be  made  up  of  approx- 
imately i  per  cent,  for  fire  insurance  and  sundry  expenses,  3  per  cent, 
for  selling  expenses  proper,  and  3  per  cent,  for  guarantee  of  credits 
and  profit.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  experience  of  well-managed 
credit  offices,  in  the  distributing  of  silks  and  ribbons,  which  generally 
go  to  a  very  good  class  of  trade,  is  that  on  the  average  the  annual 
loss  from  this  source  will  not  be  more  than  y2  per  cent.,  certainly  i 
per  cent,  would  cover  it  most  liberally.  The  remainder  of  this  3  per 
cent,  may  therefore  be  set  down  as  the  main  part  of  the  agent's 
profit. 

Of  course,  large  houses  get  their  business  handled  at  a  better  rate 
than  smaller  ones,  and  this  is  only  reasonable. 

Various  Methods  of  Handling  Accounts. 

The  account  may  be  managed  in  various  ways. 

Thus,  the  goods  may  be  thrown  into  a  general  department  and 
sold  in  common  with  other  similar  goods  by  the  one  manager  and 
staff  of  salesmen,  employed  directly  by  the  commission  house. 

Or,  an  individual,  or  a  firm,  may  conduct  a  special  department  un- 
der the  roof  of  a  commission  house,  and  may  have  the  selling  of  the 
foods  of  one  or  more  mills,  the  commission  merchant  doing  only  the 
seal  part  of  the  business,  that  is,  the  passing  on  and  guaranteeing 
the  credits,  making  advances,  cashing  sales,  and  making  collections. 
When  the  business  is  done  in  this  way,  the  commission  house  makes 
such  allowance  from  the  gross  commission  charged  as  would  seem 
reasonable,  as  an  offset  against  the  expenses  of  this  sub-department. 

Or,  if  the  mill  is  of  good  size,  a  special  department  may  be  cre- 
ated for  it,  all  of  the  salaries  and  expense  being  met  by  the  house. 

Or  the  mill  may  employ  its  own  manager  and  salesmen,  getting  a 
suitable  reduction  in  commission  in  consequence. 

Or  the  mill  may  hire  a  store  outside,  and  maintain  an  entire  selling 
and  office  force,  and  simply  use  the  commission  house  as  a  banker,  to 
cash  its  sales,  collect  and  guarantee  its  accounts,  and  make  advances 
on  merchandise  when  called  on  to  do  so. 

The  commission  paid  for  these  purely  fiscal  services  is  relatively 
small. 

In  fact,  the  commission  house  will  make  any  deal  by  which  it  will 
get  a  satisfactory  profit  with  little  or  no  risk,  and  its  money  advances 
are  always  protected  by  a  lien  on  the  goods. 

In  its  contract,  the  commission  house  may  limit  the  total  amount 
of  advances  it  may  be  called  on  to  make,  regardless  of  the  quantity  of 
goods  that  may  be  sent  in,  and  it  may  well  do  so,  as  the  furnishing 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        251 

on  demand  of  the  large  sums  required  to  keep  mills  running  is  no 
easy  task. 

Profit  on  the  Interest  Account. 

The  earnings  on  the  interest'  account  are  generally  a  source  of 
large  profit  to  the  commission  houses,  as  they  usually  borrow  their 
money  at  4  or  5  per  cent,  and  lend  it  to  the  mills  at  6  per  cent. 

Sometimes,  interest  rates  will  remain  high  for  quite  a  period,  and 
at  such  times  the  profit  from  this  source  is  curtailed,  and  the  com- 
mission houses  then  limit  all  they  can  the  demands  that  may  be  made 
upon  them  by  their  mills  for  money. 

Commission  the  Same  Under  Varying  Conditions. 
Some  goods,  from  their  nature,  are  more  troublesome  and  expen- 
sive to  sell  than  others,  but  this  does  not  always  affect  the  commission. 
In  the  same  way,  the  risk  in  guaranteeing  such  goods  as  go  to  the 
cutting-up  trade  is  greater  than  for  such  goods  as  go  to  dry-goods 
jobbers  and  retailers,  but  yet  this  does  not  alter  the  commission  either. 

Losses  Entailed  on  Manufacturers  by  the  Credit  Office. 

A  direction  in  which  mills  suffer  seriously,  and  unjustly,  and  which 
is  a  direct  result  of  the  commission-house  system,  is  as  follows :  A 
merchant,  in  good  standing,  places  an  order  with  the  silk  department 
of  a  commission  house,  for  ten  thousand  yards  of  novelty  silks,  at  a 
dollar  a  yard.  The  goods  are  to  be  made  to  his  own  colorings,  and 
the  styles  are  extreme  ones.  Before  the  order  is  transmitted  to  the 
mill,  it  is  sent  to  the  credit  office  to  pass  the  approval  of  the  credit 
man.  The  buyer  has  been  given  a  line  of  credit  of,  say,  $50,000,  and, 
as  he  only  owes,  say,  $15,000  at  the  time,  the  sales  memorandum  is 
marked  "O.  K."  and  the  order  goes  to  the  mill  and  is  put  in  work. 

A  couple  of  months  later  the  goods  are  ready  for  delivery  at  the 
contract  time,  but  meantime  the  customer  has  bought  other  goods 
in  one  or  more  of  the  various  departments  of  the  house — velvets,  wool- 
ens, hosiery,  or  what  not — and  his  line  of  credit  is  full  up.  The 
commission  house  notifies  him  that  they  have  $10,000  worth  of  silks 
ready  for  delivery  to  him  under  his  contract,  and  that,  as  he  is  already 
at  the  limit  of  his  credit,  they  would  be  glad  if  he  would  discount  an 
equal  amount  of  his  bills  so  that  they  can  send  the  silks  in.  This 
may  not  be  a  convenient  thing  for  the  customer  to  do  at  the  time, 
or  he  may  have  concluded  that  he  made  a  mistake  in  ordering  the 
goods,  or  the  color  situation  may  have  developed  so  that  he  sees  the 
shades  he  has  had  them  made  in  may  be  undesirable,  or  he  may  know 
where  he  can  get  equally  good  goods  at  a  lower  price.  He  therefore 
says  that  he  cannot  discount  any  bills,  as  requested,  and  that  if  the 
goods  are  not  delivered  forthwith,  as  per  contract,  please  to  consider 
the  order  cancelled.  The  mill  knows  nothing  of  all  this,  and,  when 
weeks  or  months  afterwards  they  learn  that  the  goods  are  still  on 


252        MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

hand,  there  is  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  swear.  Then,  after  a  consid- 
erable loss  of  time  and  interest,  the  goods  are  finally  sold  at  somewhere 
from  50  to  70  cents  a  yard,  and  the  mill  is  mulcted  in  a  sum  of  some 
thousands  of  dollars. 

This  is  an  every-day  occurrence,  and  is  thoroughly  inequitable  and 
unjustifiable.  What  has  the  mill  to  do  with  purchases  that  the  cus- 
tomer makes  in  other  departments  (purchases  largely  made  after  the 
taking  of  his  order),  or  with  the  line  of  credit  given  by  the  commis- 
sion house?  If  the  credit  office  feels  the  necessity  of  making  a  hard- 
and-fast  limit  of  credit  then  the  value  of  all  orders  in  work  at  mills  for 
each  customer  should  be  memorandumed  against  him,  and  no  other 
order  should  be  taken,  or  goods  sold  from  stock,  which  would  put 
the  account  into  such  shape  as  stated  above.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
this  course  should  present  difficulties,  and  it  does,  the  commission 
house  should  be  in  duty  bound  to  deliver  all  such  orders.  As  it  is, 
the  salesmen  of  the  house  sell  the  goods  and  the  credit  office  approves 
the  sale.  What  more  can  the  mill  know?  Then  the  goods  are  made 
up  to  sample  and  delivered  on  time,  and  the  result  is  that  the  agent, 
to  whom  is  committed  the  care  of  the  mill's  interests,  pursues,  for  his 
own  selfish  ends  and  according  to  his  own  narrow  views,  a  course  that 
may  impose  upon  his  client  very  severe  losses.  Such  a  state  of  affairs 
imperatively  demands  a  change  of  policy. 

Mills  Should  Have  a  Chance  to  Protect  Themselves. 

Meantime,  while  conditions  remain  as  they  are,  mills  should  ar- 
range that  in  such  cases  they  be  given  the  right  to  order  the  delivery 
of  the  goods,  as  per  contract,  and  that  they  can  themselves  assume 
the  credit  risk,  with  a  proper  reduction  in  the  percentage  of  commis- 
sion charged  on  such  sales.  No  manufacturer  would  hesitate  for  an 
instant  (except  in  the  case  of  some  particularly  discredited  customer) 
in  deciding  to  take  any  reasonable  credit  risk,  rather  than  accept  the 
certainty  of  a  heavy  loss  in  the  reselling  of  a  lot  of  goods,  made  on 
some  one  else's  judgment,  and  well  along  in  the  season.  Every  sales 
agent  should  see  to  it  that  this  option  is  presented  to  his  client,  and 
that,  too,  before  the  day  for  the  delivery  of  the  goods  has  gone  past. 

Some  selling  agents  have  tried  to  guard  against  this  situation  by 
requiring  customers,  when  a  line  of  credit  is  granted,  to  enter  into  an 
agreement  to  discount  existing  bills  when  their  line  is  full  and  other 
orders  of  theirs  are  coming  forward  for  delivery,  and,  in  the  event  of 
not  being  able  to  do  so,  that  any  orders  so  made  for  them  will  not! 
be  subject  to  cancellation  if  held  till  such  time  as  they  have  sufficiently 
reduced  their  account.  This  is  all  right  in  theory,  but,  judging  from 
the  disinclination  of  commission  houses  to  make  a  real  fight  against 
the  general  cancellation  of  orders,  when  customers  feel  like  it,  it  is 
not  worth  much  in  practice. 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        253 

Adverse  Influence  of  Sales  by  Other  Departments. 

Another  way  in  which  this  matter  of  handling  credits  hurts  a  mill 
is  that  it  cuts  down  the  number  of  its  possible  customers,  for,  if  the 
line  of  credit  given  to  a  perfectly  good  house  is  filled  up  by  what  it 
has  brought  in  the  other  departments,  that  house  will  have  to  pass  by 
all  other  goods  presented  to  it  by  mills  selling  through  such  commis- 
sion agent,  no  matter  how  much  it  might  desire  to  purchase. 

It  will  be  seen,  of  course,  that  such  conditions  are  most  apt  to  occur 
in  very  large  houses,  particularly  in  those  which  have  many  depart- 
ments and  many  different  classes  of  goods,  as  scattering  purchases  of 
a  variety  of  merchandise  would  soon  fill  up  a  buyer's  line  of  credit. 
In  placing  his  business,  the  manufacturer  may  well  consider  if  it  would 
not  be  better,  so  long  as  methods  continue  as  they  are,  to  give  his  ac- 
count to  some  agent  of  modest  size,  particularly  to  one  who  does  not 
conduct  an  establishment  akin  to  a  modern  department  store. 

Dodging  the  Guarantee  Which  Has  Been  Paid  For. 

Similarly,  when  goods  are  ready  for  delivery  and  anything  has 
occurred  since  the  checking  of  the  order  to  impair  the  confidence  of 
the  credit  office  in  the  stability  of  the  buyer — anything,  in  fact,  from 
slowness  of  payment  to  actual  bankruptcy — the  selling  agent  re- 
fuses to  deliver  the  goods  except  for  cash,  which,  of  course,  is  rarely 
forthcoming,  and  again  the  goods  lie  in  stock,  and  again  a  loss  is 
thrown  on  the  manufacturer  in  their  final  sale. 

This  is  a  gross  wrong.  The  manufacturer  may  have  no  knowledge 
of  whom  the  goods  are  made  for.  He  did  not  sell  them,  he  did  not 
check  the  account,  his  skirts  are  absolutely  clear.  In  fact,  to  protect 
himself  against  bad  credits,  he  is  annually  paying  his  agent  a  sub- 
stantial sum,  in  the  commission  charged,  as  a  credit  guarantee. 

It  is  to  be  presumed,  in  view  of  the  large  annual  amount  of  money 
that  this  guarantee  charge  amounts  to,  that  the  selling  agent  is  as- 
suming some  real  risk,  for  if  each  customer  were  an  Arnold,  Con- 
stable &  Co.,  or  a  Marshall  Field  &  Co.,  no  mill  would  agree  to  pay 
a  cent  for  guaranteeing  accounts,  but  would  carry  the  risk  themselves. 

The  Equitable  Course. 

As  the  sales  agent  declines  to  deliver  the  goods,  and  so  invites  the 
loss  on  their  resale,  for  the  sake  of  protecting  his  own  pocket  in  the 
event  of  the  possible  difficulties  of  the  customer,  and  as  he  has,  before 
the  goods  were  made,  approved  the  credit  of  that  customer  and  or- 
dered the  mill  to  make  them  for  him,  and  as  in  the  commission  that 
would  be  charged  the  mill,  on  that  and  other  sales,  is  a  sum  of  money 
to  guarantee  them  against  loss  on  just  such  risks,  the  equities  of  the 
case  would  demand  that,  where  the  agent  felt  that  the  risk  of  delivery 
would  be  too  great,  he  should  take  the  goods  over  to  his  own  account 
and  shoulder  himself  the  loss  that  would  follow. 


254"      MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

If  this  equitable  and  honest  course  was  the  "custom  of  the  trade,'* 
as  it  should  be,  it  does  not  follow  that  commission  houses  would  neces- 
sarily be  losers.  It  would,  however,  compel  their  credit  men  to  be 
much  more  careful  in  checking  the  orders  before  their  execution,  and 
the  result  would  be  that,  when  made,  there  would  very  seldom  be  a 
question  as  to  the  safety  of  delivering  them. 

Selling  agents  to-day  regard  the  present  practice  as  quite  fair  and 
right.  So  did  railway  managers  (till  recently)  when  they  gave  rebates 
to  favored  interests.  Gentlemen  in  the  insurance  business,  too,  used 
to  have  no  doubt  as  to  the  equity  of  their  peculiar  methods. 

The  truth  is  that  no  method  is  fair  and  no  method  is  equitable 
where  the  interest  of  one  of  the  parties  is  regularly  sacrificed  to  suit 
the  interest  or  convenience  of  the  other.  To-day,  the  manufacturer's 
interest  is  regularly  sacrificed  in  such  matters,  and  the  constant  and 
crushing  losses  so  inflicted  have  been  the  cause  of  many  a  failure. 

Revaluing  Stock  Goods. 

Commission  agents  are  often  criticized  severely  for  their  arbitrary 
way  of  "revaluing"  stock. 

A  manufacturer  may  have  his  stock  drawn  against,  and,  as  he 
sends  in  his  weekly  shipments,  he  draws  against  them  also,  for  the 
arranged  percentage,  to  take  care  of  his  maturing  obligations,  pay- 
rolls, etc. 

Then,  some  day,  when  he  asks  for  a  cheque,  he  is  told  that  there  is 
nothing  coming  to  him ;  that,  on  revaluing  his  stock,  they  find  that  the 
late  shipments  are  no  more  than  enough  to  give  them  their  proper 
margin  of  security,  and  that  he  can  have  no  money  till  he  sends  in 
more  goods. 

Reasons  for  the  Revaluing. 

This  revaluing  may  have  been  done  on  general  principles  if  the 
market  was  weak  or  sluggish,  or  some  few  pieces  of  a  large  line  may 
have  been  sold  at  a  lower  price  than  invoiced,  for  special  reasons,  and 
they  may  have  jumped  at  the  conclusion  that  the  value  of  the  entire 
line  has  gone  off,  but  they  will  probably  say  nothing  about  this  to  the 
manufacturer  till  they  have  more  of  his  goods  in  their  hands. 

A  Pawnbroking  Parallel. 

Their  action  is  in  line  with  that  of  an  ordinary  pawnbroker,  who, 
if  he  had  lent  some  one  $50  on  his  watch,  and  had  afterwards  con- 
cluded that  he  had  over-advanced  on  it,  would  then,  in  the  event  of 
the  person  coming  to  him  again  to  get  a  loan  on  the  chain,  seize  that, 
and  calmly  inform  him  that  he  would  hold  it  as  additional  collateral. 

The  comparison  is  an  absolutely  just  one,  and  in  both  cases  the 
action  is  indefensible. 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        255 

Forcing  Manufacturers  Into  Bankruptcy. 

With  his  supplies  cut  off  at  a  moment's  notice  like  this,  what  is  the 
manufacturer  to  do?  He  may  manage  to  turn  himself  somehow,  but 
if  the  obligations  to  be  met  are  notes,  or  pay-rolls,  of  a  heavy  character, 
he  may  be  unable  to  meet  them,  his  credit  will  promptly  be  called  in 
question,  and  he  will  find  himself  in  financial  difficulties  at  once. 

Many  a  concern  has  been  forced  into  bankruptcy  in  this  ruthless 
fashion,  which  otherwise  would  have  remained  solvent. 

How  the  Sale  of  Goods  is  Hindered. 

There  are  times,  also,  when  manufacturers'  sales  agents  feel  obliged 
to  decline  fairly  good  offers  on  stock  merchandise,  which  otherwise 
they  would  have  gladly — and  properly — accepted,  fearing  that  it  would 
immediately  invite  a  revaluing  of  their  stocks  by  their  factors.  They 
are  thus  impelled  to  hang  onto  goods  which,  if  sold  in  season,  could 
have  been  disposed  of  at  moderate  concessions,  and  which,  having  to 
be  carried  along,  are  slaughtered  later  on. 

The  Fiction  of  Time  for  Collection  of  Accounts. 

Another  practice,  common  among  the  commission  houses  which 
handle  silks,  but  which  would  be  regarded  by  most  Worth  Street 
houses  as  quite  unjustifiable,  is  the  charging  of  a  certain  number  of 
days'  time  against  the  mills  on  the  plea  that  it  takes  so  and  so  many 
days  to  collect  accounts.  This  is  generally  assumed  as  10  days.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  it  will  not,  on  a  careful  average,  amount  to  more 
than  one-half  or  one-third  of  that  Therefore,  when  the  average  date 
of  a  months'  sales  is  computed,  some  houses  add  10  days  to  that  date, 
and  others  save  their  clerks  the  trouble  of  computing  it  by  simply 
crediting  all  sales  as  of  the  end  of  the  month,  which  in  practice  amounts 
to  nearer  20  days  than  10. 

This  is  a  custom  that  is  absolutely  without  right.  The  credits  and 
collections  are  something  with  which  the  mill  has  no  concern.  Goods 
sold  in  New  York  are  payable  in  New  York,  on  the  date  due  and  in 
New  York  funds,  and  it  is  the  business  of  the  selling  agent  alone  to 
make  the  collections  and  to  see  that  they  are  paid  when  due.  If  he 
fails  to  do  so,  it  is  not  the  mill's  affair.  It  would  be  as  logical,  if 
customers  were  dragging  30  or  60  days,  to  charge  such  time  to  the 
mill. 

It  is  quite  true  that  manufacturers  often  sign  contracts  permitting 
of  this  deduction,  but  they  do  so  because  they  are  told  that  it  is  the 
"custom  of  the  trade."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  a  self-made  custom 
of  the  trade  on  the  part  of  houses  handling  certain  classes  of  goods, 
while  in  the  case  of  the  majority  of  strictly  dry-goods  commission 
houses  such  a  practice  would  not  be  tolerated.  Therefore,  as  usual, 
the  commission  house  in  its  contract  drives  the  hardest  bargain  it  can, 
and  grabs  6,  10,  12,  or  15  days,  or  end  of  month  dating,  as  the  case 


256        MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

may  be.  The  net  result  is  that  they  take  about  half  a  month's  interest 
off  the  mills,  which,  considering  that  they  are  paid  a  full  commission, 
they  are  in  no  equitable  way  entitled  to,  and  this  is  equal  to  Y^%  on 
the  sales  which,  on  each  $1,000,000  worth  of  business,  amounts  to 
$2,500,  transferred  in  this  dextrous  manner  from  the  manufacturer's 
pocket  to  that  of  his  friend  the  selling  agent. 

This  custom  of  crediting  sales  as  of  the  last  of  the  month  has  an- 
other side.  A  mill  sends  in  a  lot  of  goods  at  the  end  of  the  month  for 
delivery.  They  find  they  are  not  charged  out  till  the  first  or  second 
of  the  following  month,  which  may  or  may  not  entail  the  risk  of  a  can- 
cellation for  late  delivery.  If  they  say  anything  about  it  they  are 
perhaps  told  that  everybody  had  been  dumping  in  goods  for  delivery 
on  the  last  day  or  two  of  the  month,  and  that  it  was  physically  impos- 
sible for  the  house  to  make  delivery  of  them  all  ;  some  had  to  lie  over 
for  a  day  or  two.  This  may  all  be  so,  but  when  the  agent  charges  them 
out  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  month,  the  mills  may  only  get  credit 
for  them  perhaps  some  30  days  after,  which  means  a  charge  against 
them  of  T/2%,  which  is  quite  unjustifiable. 


Transfer  Commissions. 

Another  question  arises  where  an  account  is  to  be  transferred  from 
one  agent  to  another.  A  preliminary  to  transfer  is,  of  course,  that  all 
advances,  or  loans  on  the  stock,  must  be  repaid.  Some  commission  is 
usually  exacted  on  the  transfer  and  it  will  generally  run  from  one  per 
cent,  to  half  of  the  full  commission,  as  the  case  may  be. 

The  theory  of  charging  for  transfer  is  that  the  selling  agent,  in 
arranging  to  handle  an  account,  has  had  to  rent  floor  space,  hire  sales- 
men and  clerks,  insure  the  goods,  and  commit  himself  to  many  other 
expenses,  and  that,  therefore,  when  an  account  is  moved,  even  when 
goods  are  unsold,  as  money  has  been  laid  out  to  prepare  for  their  sale, 
it  is  only  proper  that  the  commission  merchant  receive  some  return 
for  his  pains. 

Leaving  aside  the  question  of  whether  goods  have  been  advanced  on 
or  not,  which,  as  advances  must  be  repaid  anyway,  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  case,  the  goods  to  be  transferred  separate  themselves  into 
certain  classes.  Thus,  there  are  goods  for  sale  at  the  agent's;  goods  at 
the  agent's,  sold  but  being  held  till  time  for  delivery  ;  goods  at  the  mill 
made  on  order,  but  not  yet  sent  forward  ;  goods  at  the  mill  made  for 
stock  ;  goods  in  work  at  the  mill  sold  and  unsold  ;  and  orders  for  goods 
not  yet  started. 

A  claim  may  be  made  for  full  commission  on  all  sold  goods,  whether 
at  store  or  mill,  and  on  all  unfilled  orders.  This  is  not  tenable 
if  the  goods  are  to  be  delivered  by  the  new  agent,  as  the  expenses  of 
the  delivery  of  the  goods  and  the  collection  of  the  accounts  has  not 
been  incurred,  nor  will  there  be  any  guarantee  risk  to  take.  If  the  mill 
forwards  to  the  old  agent  goods  to  fill  all  orders  taken  by  him  and  he 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        257 

delivers  them  and  collects  the  accounts,  of  course  he  is  entitled  to  his 
full  commission,  and  on  the  unsold  goods  transferred,  which  have  been 
in  his  store,  he  will  probably  want  half  commission. 

A  mill,  however,  that  has  in. view  the  likelihood  of  changing  its 
agent,  may  for  weeks,  or  months,  prior  thereto  send  to  its  agent  only 
such  goods  as  are  actually  sold,  holding  all  unsold  goods  at  the  mill. 
The  agent  may  try  to  make  himself  believe  that  he  has  a  moral  claim 
to  a  transfer  charge  on  such  goods  as  would  have  normally  been  sent 
forward  to  him  for  sale,  even  though  held  at  the  mill,  and  such  claims 
are  sometimes  put  forward.  The  selling  agent,  however,  not  having 
been  successful  in  placing  the  full  mill  product,  is  in  no  worse  position 
in  this  case  than  if  stock  goods  had  not  been  made  and  the  looms  had 
been  allowed  to  stand,  and,  as  such  goods  have  never  been  in  the 
agent's  possession,  there  is  no  proper  ground  on  which  he  can  maintain 
such  a  claim. 

When,  however,  the  mill  has  its  own  salesroom,  rented  by  itself, 
pays  its  selling  and  office  force  and  all  expenses,  and  does  at  its  own 
cost  everything  except  the  collecting  and  guaranteeing  of  accounts, 
there  is  then  no  reason  why  the  selling  agent,  who  has  been  at  no 
expense  whatever  on  account  of  the  unsold  goods,  should  receive  any 
transfer  commission,  and  on  such  goods  as  have  been  sold  but  not 
delivered,  and  which  will  be  delivered  and  financed  through  the  new 
agent,  he  would  have  no  reason  to  demand  a  charge  either. 

Such  charges  are  demanded,  however,  equitably  or  not,  and  if  a 
colorable  showing  that  it  is  in  any  way  a  "custom  of  the  trade"  can  be 
made  out,  the  claim,  in  default  of  written  agreement  to  the  contrary, 
could  probably  be  maintained  at  law. 

In  signing  up  with  a  commission  house,  it  is  very  necessary  to  have 
every  such  point  considered  and  embodied  in  the  agreement,  particu- 
larly as,  when  an  account  is  moved,  there  is  apt  to  be  ill  feeling  on  one 
or  other,  or  perhaps  both  sides,  and  any  looseness  of  understanding  will 
surely  invite  trouble. 

The  Acceptance  of  Claims,  Cancellations  and  Returns. 

A  great  grievance  that  mills  have  is  the  unwarranted  acceptance  of 
cancellations,  claims,  allowances  and  returns  on  the  part  of  their  sell- 
ing houses  which,  as  duly  authorized  agents,  bind  their  principals,  the 
manufacturers.  At  the  same  time,  with  regard  to  the  customers, 
the  agents  are  the  principals  and  the  mills  might  have  no  standing  if 
they  desired  to  enforce  their  rights  by  legal  process  against  the  cus- 
tomers. Their  only  recourse,  in  the  case  of  serious  grievance,  might 
lie  in  a  suit  against  the  commission  house,  a  course  rarely  resorted  to, 
and  which  would,  of  course,  lead  to  a  severance  of  relations. 

The  commission  house  system  is  primarily  responsible  for  the 
growth  of  the  colossal  evil  of  cancellations,  allowance  of  excessive 
claims,  and  acceptance  of  the  return  of  goods  which  the  buyer  finds 


258        MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

he  does  not  want.  To  such  lengths  has  this  gone,  that,  in  many 
branches  of  the  dry  goods  trade,  an  order  is  only  regarded  as  an 
expression  of  preference  on  the  part  of  the  buyer. 

The  reason  lies  plainly  on  the  surface.  It  is  the  selling  agent  who 
has  the  say  about  the  acceptance  of  these  cancellations,  etc.,  and  the 
mill  that  bears  the  attendant  loss.  The  agent,  no  doubt,  fights  hard 
against  the  practice  and  tries  to  do  the  best  he  can  for  his  mills,  or,  to 
be  more  exact,  he  says  he  does,  and  perhaps  thinks  so,  but  is  the  fight 
he  makes  anything  like  what  it  would  be  if  he  were  holding  the  bag 
himself  and  the  losses  were  falling  on  him  ?  You  may  be  sure  it  is  not. 

The  fact  .is  that  his  customer  has  great  value  to  him  as  a  buyer  of 
many  other  lines  of  his  goods,  and  if  a  large  buyer,  who  is  taking 
$100,000  worth  of  goods  a  year  in  dress  goods,  hosiery,  velvets,  linings, 
etc.,  wants  to  cancel  $10,000  worth  of  silks  (to  save  himself  from  a 
loss  that  might  be  caused  him  from  poor  judgment  in  ordering),  will 
the  commission  merchant  withstand  him  as  if  the  silk  were  his  only 
purchase,  and  as  if  the  house  had  to  take  the  loss?  Oh,  no.  He  will 
write  him  civil  letters  and  try  to  persuade  him  to  take  the  goods,  but  he 
will  not  risk,  by  a  fight,  the  cutting  off  of  his  purchases  in  the  ather 
departments  of  the  house.  So  also  with  returns  and  claims. 

The  cancellation  evil  will  never  be  stopped  as  long  as  those  who 
have  the  say  about  the  allowance  of  same  dp  not  have  their  "pocket- 
book  nerve"  severely  jarred,  though  something  might  possibly  be  ef- 
fected by  a  concert  of  action  among  all  the  commission  houses,  that  is, 
a  real  arrangement  that  would  compel  every  buyer  to  take  his  pur- 
chase, even  if  suits  had  to  be  brought  against  the  whole  trade. 

Such  an  agreement,  however,  is  nowhere  in  evidence  at  present. 

Acquiescence  in  Cancellations  by  Commission  Houses. 

A  great  hardship  to  the  trade  in  this  matter  is  due  to  the  fact  that, 
as  the  bulk  of  the  silk  production  is  sold  through  agents,  it  makes  it 
excessively  hard  for  those  mills  which  sell  their  own  goods  to  enforce 
their  contracts  when  the  big  commission  houses  allow  their  customers 
to  break  theirs. 

Thus,  when  a  manufacturer,  who  finances  his  own  business,  takes 
the  stand  that  he  will  not  accept  cancellations,  which  his  customers  are 
trying  to  make  on  a  falling  market,  some  of  them  may  tell  him  that 
they  would  take  delivery  of  their  goods  without  a  murmur  were  it 
not  that  their  competitors,  in  their  home  towns,  had  been  allowed  to 
cancel  their  orders  by  the  different  commission  houses  representing  the 
mills  from  whom  they  had  bought  them. 

They  may  further  point  out  that,  as  under  such  circumstances  the 
goods  could  nearly  always  be  re-bought  later  for  less  money,  if  they 
had  to  take  deliveries  they  would  be  at  a  serious  disadvantage  com- 
pared with  the  others,  and  that  losses  would  thus  fall  upon  them  be- 
cause they  had  given  the  preference  in  their  purchases  to  the  inde- 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        259 

pendent  seller,  rather  than  to  the  commission  house  mills,  and  that  in 
future  it  would  be  safer  for  them  to  buy  where  they  could  cancel  if 
they  wished  to. 

This  argument  is  not  without  reason,  and  so  it  makes  it  very  hard 
for  the  individual  manufacturer  to  stem  the  current  of  such  practices. 

Manufacturers  Held  by  Contracts;  Customers  Are  Not. 

In  other  businesses  the  observance  of  contracts  is  obligatory,  and 
it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  silk  manufacturer  is  held  rigidly  up  to  his 
by  the  raw-silk  houses  with  whom  he  deals. 

In  the  marketing  of  textiles,  if  the  manufacturers  were  to  work 
in  concert  in  this  matter,  it  would  not  take  long  to  suppress  the  evil 
if  they  really  grappled  with  it  in  earnest. 

The  Marketing  of  Goods  at  Auction. 

Questions  also  arise  when  it  is  necessary  to  dispose  of  goods  at 
auction.  There  are  small  lots  from  time  to  time  that  it  is  convenient 
to  sell  in  this  fashion,  damaged  goods  or  what  not,  and,  though  full 
commissions  are  charged  on  them,  there  is  little  cause  for  complaint, 
as  the  difference  in  commission  will  not  amount  to  much. 

It  is  different  when  a  large  sale  is  to  be  made,  and  if  this  con- 
tingency is  not  mentioned  in  the  contract,  it  is  wise  for  the  manu- 
facturer to  have  a  clear  understanding  with  his  commission  house  be- 
fore he  orders  the  sale.  Special  arrangements  are  generally  made,  but, 
if  not,  the  manufacturer  may  find  that  he  is  being  charged  his  full 
commission,  and  the  auctioneer's  fee  for  handling  the  sale  and  crying 
the  goods  in  addition.  Of  course,  if  the  auctioneer  delivers  the  goods 
and  assumes  the  credit  risk,  his  charge  will  be  that  much  higher,  with 
some  reduction,  to  compensate,  in  the  commission  house  charge. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  selling  agent  has  been  unsuccessful 
in  keeping  the  mill  closely  sold  up,  and  preventing  the  accumulation 
of  undesirable  or  surplus  goods,  and  so  has  been  instrumental  in  neces- 
sitating a  sale  under  the  hammer  with  its  attendant  loss,  a  charge  of 
anything  like  full  commission  would  not  often  be  warranted.  Half 
commission  in  addition  to  the  auctioneer's  charges  is  considered  fair 
by  many  houses. 

Allowance  of  Special  Discounts. 

Some  selling  agents  have  peculiar  practices  all  their  own.  One 
large  house,  for  instance,  though  possibly  there  are  others,  allows 
an  extra  one  per  cent,  to  a  certain  large  out  of  town  retail  concern, 
and  every  one  under  that  roof,  selling  to  this  concern,  is  mulcted  that 
one  per  cent.  This  may  serve  to  bind  the  business  of  that  retailer 
to  this  house  more  closely,  but  it  is  at  the  expense  of  the  mills,  and 
much  of  it  on  goods  that  will  ill  bear  any  deduction.  Peculiar  is  a 
mild  name  to  apply  to  this  office  arrangement. 


26o       MILLS  AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

Conflicting  Interests  in  a  Department. 

There  are  other  directions  in  which  the  interest  of  a  mill  may  be 
ill  served  when  its  goods  are  sold  through  a  commission  house,  direc- 
tions where  no  blame  can  properly  attach  to  the  agent,  but  which  are 
inherent  drawbacks  to  the  system,  yet  nevertheless  hurtful  to  the 
manufacturer. 

For  instance  "A"  and  "B"  are  two  manufacturers  whose  goods 
are  handled  in  the  general  silk  department  of  a  commission  house, 
the  manager  of  which  department  attends  to  the  work  of  laying  out 
goods  for  the  mills. 

Mr.  A ,  in  talking  over  styles  for  the  coming  season  with  the 

department  manager,  suggests,  for  instance,  the  idea  of  getting  up 
some  lines  of  Bengalines,  and  perhaps  has  some  samples  and  informa- 
tion from  abroad  which  tend  to  show  that  taste  may  be  leaning  in  that 
direction.  If  the  idea  is  approved,  colors,  weaves,  etc.,  are  discussed, 
and  Mr.  A goes  back  to  his  mill  to  prepare  his  samples. 

Next  week  Mr.  B is  in  the  city,  and  he,  too,  is  arranging 

for  his  coming  campaign.  He  has  similar  views  as  to  the  likelihood 
of  Bengalines  being  wanted,  and  as  he  has  box  looms  and  wants  to 
use  them,  he  indicates  his  desire  to  sample  in  that  direction.  The 

manager  is  in  an  awkward  position.  If  he  lets  Mr.  B direct  his 

efforts  in  this  channel,  Mr.  A may  accuse  him  later  of  having 

given  away  his  ideas  and  plans  to  a  rival  manufacturer.  He  there- 
fore blows  cold  on  the  idea,  and  tells  Mr.  B that  perhaps  it  would 

be  better  to  sample  on  plaids  and  try  to  find  work  for  his  box  looms 
in  that  field,  and  so  he  is  sidetracked  from  sampling  in  a  direction 
that  was  really  the  most  promising.  Of  course,  the  manager  does  not 
actually  know  at  that  stage  just  what  fabric  will  sell,  but  just  the 

same,  Mr.  B might  as  well  have  had  a  line  of  Bengalines  in  his 

collection  on  the  chance  of  their  being  good,  and  so  the  desire  to 
avoid  a  conflict  of  interests  in  the  department  leads  to  the  preventing^ 
different  mills,  from  time  to  time,  from  turning  out  fabrics  that  they 
could  make  well  and  profitably. 

It  not  infrequently  happens  that  the  manager  of  a  department  will 
be  more  friendly  to  one  of  his  consignors  than  to  the  others.  It  may 
be  the  largest  of  his  accounts,  he  may  have  some  personal  interest 
in  its  sales  or  profits,  or  he  may  like  the  owners  better. 

In  such  a  case,  as  orders  come  in,  they  may  be  turned  over  to  the 
favored  mill  whenever  possible,  and  it  may  get  the  cream  of  every- 
thing, and  the  sale  of  its  goods  may  be  pushed  in  preference  to  the 
others. 

This  is  not  equitable  but  it  is  hard  to  prove  it. 

Commission  House  Orders. 

Then,  again,  there  are  the  "Commission  House  orders." 
The  selling  of  the  goods  of  a  mill  has  been  undertaken  by  the- 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        261 

agent,  samples  made,  and  salesmen  sent  out.  The  manufacturer  has 
declared  positively  that  he  does  not  intend  to  make  any  stock  goods, 
and  does  not  want  to  weave  a  yard  except  upon  positive  order. 

Soon,  he  receives  an  order  from  the  agent  covering  some  hundreds 
of  pieces,  representing  various  styles  and  colorings,  and  he  goes  joy- 
fully to  work  producing  them.  As  they  are  sent  in  he  draws  against 
them  for  his  needs — the  advances,  of  course,  never  equaling  the  cost 
of  the  goods — and  then  looks  to  see  them  charged  up  in  the  sketches 
of  sales  as  they  come  in. 

A  few  pieces  appear  on  the  sketches,  but,  when  he  visits  the  mar- 
ket, or  writes  to  enquire,  he  is  staggered  by  finding  them  nearly  all  in 
stock  and  still  unsold.  His  "order"  was  no  order,  except  from  the 
agent,  and,  as  the  agent  is  the  representative  of  the  manufacturer, 
the  latter  has  no  recourse  against  any  one,  and  has  to  face  the  pros- 
pect of  a  heavy  loss  on  the  stock  goods,  ordered  in  defiance  of  his 
expressed  views. 

A  Continental  Method  of  Financing  Mills. 

In  some  of  the  Continental  textile  centres  they  have  a  method 
of  financing  mills  that  might  possibly  be  imitated  in  some  of  our 
manufacturing  centres  here. 

A  warehousing  company,  of  moderate  capital,  is  formed,  each  manu- 
facturer who  goes  into  it  subscribing  to  the  shares  according  to  the 
number  of  his  looms,  and  the  management  is  assumed  by  a  committee 
of  the  shareholders. 

When  goods  are  made  for  stock,  or  when  order  goods  have  to  be 
held  for  a  time  before  delivery,  they  can  be  deposited  at  the  warehouse 
and  drawn  against,  just  as  they  are  now  drawn  against  when  sent  to 
a  commission  house,  and  the  advances  are  very  liberal  if  the  goods 
are  all  right,  for  the  committee,  being  thorough  judges  of  goods  and 
of  the  market,  advance  as  much  as  they  reasonably  and  safely  can. 

The  warehouse  company  issues  its  negotiable  certificates  against 
the  goods,  and,  with  them  as  collateral,  borrows  from  the  banks  the 
amounts  that  have  been  advanced.  When  the  goods  are  withdrawn, 
the  advances  are  repaid  or  other  collateral  substituted. 

If  the  goods  are  for  shipment  to  customers,  they  may  be  billed 
up  and  the  accounts  made  payable  to  the  warehouse  company,  which 
collects  them,  repays  itself,  and  returns  the  remainder  to  the  manu- 
facturer, just  as  a  commission  merchant  might  do. 

By  this  means,  and  with  a  capital  only  sufficiently  large  to  enable 
the  banks  to  feel  safe  in  advancing  on  the  warehouse  receipts,  the 
warehousing  company  becomes  the  medium  through  which  the  manu- 
facturers borrow,  on  the  only  collateral  they  have  got — their  goods — 
the  sums  necessary  to  finance  them. 

Such  institutions  would  seem  to  be  very  suitable  for  American 
conditions. 


262        MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

Our  Faulty  Banking  System  Necessitates  the  Commission  House. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  so  long  as  the  banks  of  this  country  are  unable 
or  unwilling  to  afford  proper  banking  assistance  to  mills,  or  until  the 
mills  organize  to  finance  and  protect  themselves,  just  so  long  will  the 
commission  house  system  thrive  with  its  attendant  drawbacks. 

Raw-silk  Houses  Might  Finance  Mills. 

Bearing  in  mind  this  fact  that  the  mills  require  greater  financial 
assistance  than  the  banks  are  able  or  willing  to  afford,  it  would  seem 
as  if  it  should  be  those  who  are  most  vitally  interested  in  the  well- 
being  of  the  manufacturers — i.  e.,  the  raw-silk  merchants — who  should 
do  this  financing,  rather  than  having  it  handled  by  commission  mer- 
chants, whose  interests  are  far  from  being  identical  with  those  of 
the  mills. 

Goods  Hypothecated  Made  from  Unpaid-for  Silk. 

If  goods  are  to  be  pledged,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  major 
factor  in  the  value  of  those  fabrics  is  the  raw-silk,  bought  on  extended 
credit,  nor  must  it  be  overlooked  that,  if  disaster  occurs,  these  same 
raw-silk  men  who  are  heavy  creditors  have  no  protection  whatever. 

Other  Creditors  are  Protected. 

The  commission  agent,  the  throwster,  the  dyer,  and  the  finisher, 
seize,  under  their  liens  (liens  often  carried  to  such  an  extent  that,  I 
believe,  would  neither  be  sustained  at  law  or  at  equity),  all  of  the 
visible  convertible  assets  of  the  bankrupt,  and  leave  the  raw-silk  man 
and  the  yarn  dealer  out  in  the  cold. 

Funds  Required  for  Advances  to  Mills. 

It  may  be  objected  that  raw-silk  merchants  are  not  in  a  position 
to  undertake  such  serious  financial  responsibilities  as  the  financing  of 
mills  would  entail. 

In  answer  to  this  it  may  be  said  that,  while  very  few  of  them 
could  carry  such  a  load  on  their  individual  shoulders,  though  some 
could,  the  thing  could  be  done  by  a  group  acting  in  concert.  Again, 
the  capital  required  need  not,  after  all,  be  so  enormous,  as  they  would 
then  have  exactly  the  same  collateral  back  of  their  loans  that  the 
commission  houses  now  have,  and  on  account  of  the  paper  that  they 
offer  for  discount  being  thus  protected,  commission  houses  can  get 
all  the  money  they  need  from  the  banks. 

Raw-silk  houses,  undertaking  the  same  functions,  could  command 
the  same  funds. 

Effect  Upon  Silk  Sales  to  the  General  Trade. 

Should  it  be  objected  that  a  raw-silk  house,  financing  mills,  would 
be  shut  out  from  selling  to  the  rest  of  the  trade,  the  answer  is  that  it 
is  a  benefit  to  the  rest  of  the  trade  to  help  to  keep  a  manufacturer 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        263 

from  having  to  demoralize  the  market  by  slaughtering  his  goods  un- 
der commission  house  pressure.  He  would  no  more  be  competing  with 
the  manufacturers  than  the  factor  now  is  who  may  have  a  dozen 
competing  mills  selling  goods  under  his  roof.  This  would  soon  be 
recognized. 

Manufacturers  Could  Procure  Silk  at  Best  Prices. 

If  the  raw-silk  house  became  the  factor,  supplying  to  the  mill  all 
of  its  silk,  and  making  as  great,  or,  if  necessary,  greater  advances  on 
its  goods,  how  would  the  manufacturer  benefit,  and  might  he  not  have 
to  accept  poorer  silk,  or  at  higher  prices  than  otherwise? 

First,  the  arrangement  would  have  to  provide  that,  if  more  advan- 
tageous raw-silk  purchases  could  be  made  elsewhere,  he  would  be  free 
to  buy,  and  in  that  event  his  raw-silk  factor  would  assume  the  credit 
and  pay  the  bill.  The  market  would  not  only  thus  be  open  to  him,  but 
the  high  credit  of  his  factor  would  insure  him  the  most  advantageous 
prices. 

The  Restriction  of  Speculation. 

Next,  the  factor  could  effectually  restrict  any  speculative  tenden- 
cies of  the  mill  owner,  a  tendency  that  has  brought  not  a  few  con- 
cerns to  disaster,  and,  anyway,  gambling  in  silk  is  no  part  of  proper 
manufacturing. 

No  Specified  Date  for  Maturity  of  Silk  Bills. 

Again,  as  the  raw-silk  factor  must  look  to  the  sale  of  the  goods 
into  which  his  silk  has  entered  to  recoup  him  for  the  value  of  the 
material,  he  is  equally  interested  with  the  weaver  in  not  forcing  any 
merchandise  to  a  slaughter  sale  but  in  holding  goods  till  the  proper 
occasion  for  selling  them  arrives,  be  that  soon  or  late,  and  therefore 
there  would  be  no  due  date  for  the  raw-silk  bills.  That  is,  payment 
for  the  silk  entering  into  the  goods  would  be  looked  for  when  the 
goods  were  sold,  be  that  in  two  months  or  in  nine  months,  and  not 
before. 

Assets  Which  the  Mill  Owner  Should  Have. 

The  manufacturer  would  have  to  own  his  plant,  and  to  have  in 
addition  a  capital  sufficient  to  take  care  of  his  pay  rolls,  and  his  throw- 
ing, dyeing,  and  finishing  charges,  together  with  his  supply  bills  and 
other  current  mill  expenses.  About  $200  a  loom  would  probably  cover 
this.  The  factor  would  look  after  the  raw-silk  bills  and  the  bills  for 
other  yarns,  and  would  also  make  advances  on  goods. 
Great  Benefits  of  Such  a  System. 

If  such  a  method  of  financing  could  be  introduced  on  a  large  scale, 
to  take  the  place  of  the  present  commission  house  system  with  its 
numerous  disadvantages,  the  beneficial  effect  upon  the  trade  would  be 
far-reaching. 

As  explained  elsewhere  in  this  article,  it  is  the  maturing  of  silk 


264        MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES 

bills  that  compels  the  increased  manufacture  of  stock  goods,  with  all 
its  attendant  evils,  at  the  very  times  when  production  should  be  re- 
stricted. Financing  through  raw-silk  channels  would  alter  all  this, 
as  there  would  then  be  no  set  time  to  pay  such  bills,  and  manufac- 
turers could  therefore  curtail  their  production  when  the  market  need- 
ed fewer  goods,  and  still  remain  solvent. 

Joint  Interests  of  Manufacturer  and  Raw-Silk  Dealer. 
The  interests  of  the  raw-silk  dealer  and  his  customer  are,  or  should 
be,  the  same,  and  such  a  method  of  financing  as  is  here  suggested 
would  protect  the  one,  strengthen  the  other,  and  save  the  general  mar- 
ket from  the  chronic  over-production  of  stock  goods,  made  for  ad- 
vances, which  keeps  it  constantly  in  such  a  demoralized  condition  that 
the  whole  industry  suffers. 

Manufacturers  Should  Study  Their  Contracts. 

While  most  manufacturers  must,  for  the  present,  continue  to  use 
commission  house  facilities,  they  should  take  care  to  see  that  all  de- 
batable questions  are  clearly  set  forth  in  their  contracts.  If  they  are 
required  to  accede  to  extortions  they  should  resist,  and  if  the  selling 
agents  will  not  abate  their  pretensions  they  should  seek  out  some  house 
which  will  accord  them  fair  treatment. 

If  they  will  read  over  their  existing  contracts  with  care,  they  may 
be  surprised  to  find  how  completely  they  are  at  the  mercy  of  their 
commission  houses  in  many  of  the  directions  here  spoken  of. 

Nominal  Commission  is  Less  Than  the  Actual  Charges. 

In  calculating  what  their  goods  will  yield  at  the  market  prices 
fixed,  they  must  by  no  means  conclude  that  the  customary  7  per 
cent,  is  all  that  they  have  to  allow,  but  they  must  consider  with 
minute  care  every  charge,  exaction,  or  loss  that  the  system  entails  on 
them,  and,  leaving  aside  the  special  and  heavy  sources  of  loss  pre- 
viously referred  to,  most  of  them  will  find  that  their  nominal  7  per 
cent,  is  an  actual  8  per  cent. 

It  is  also  a  not  uninteresting  fact  that  mills  which  had  formerly 
sold  their  goods  through  commission  agents,  and  have  subsequently 
arranged  to  finance  their  business  themselves,  rarely  show  any  desire 
to  return  to  the  old  system,  though  sometimes  forced  to  do  so  by  their 
overtrading. 

Increased  Cost  of  Merchandising. 

During  the  last  few  years  the  cost  of  selling  goods  has  materially 
increased. 

This  has  been  mainly  caused  by  the  policy  pursued  by  the  dis- 
tributers of  refraining  from  placing  advance  orders  of  any  moment, 
relying  upon  the  manufacturers  to  furnish  them  with  goods  at  what- 
ever time  best  suited  their  convenience. 


MILLS   AND    THEIR    COMMISSION   HOUSES        265 

The  result  is  that,  instead  of  the  usual  volume  of  sales  being  made 
up  of  a  moderate  number  of  large  to  fair  sized  orders,  it  requires  a 
very  large  number  of  the  present  day  small  orders  to  sell  up  the  mill. 

Consequently,  more  salesmen  may  be  needed,  and  very  many  more 
trips  on  the  road  must  be  made,  to  secure  the  business,  and  all  this 
adds  largely  to  the  expense. 

Added  to  this,  the  cost  of  traveling  has  greatly  increased,  store 
rents  and  other  expenses  are  higher,  and  there  is  a  heavy  interest 
charge,  that  falls  upon  the  mills,  on  the  large  stock  of  goods  which 
it  is  now  customary  to  carry. 

Agents  Withdrawing  from  the  Actual  Work  of  Selling. 

To  take  care  of  such  increased  expenses,  at  the  usual  commissions 
charged,  would  cut  seriously  into  the  profits  of  a  commission  house 
which  maintained  its  own  selling  departments. 

It  is  interesting,  therefore,  to  observe  that,  coincidently  with  this 
increasing  selling  cost,  the  commission  houses  have  been  gradually 
giving  up  their  own  sales  departments  and  have  been  allowing  these 
functions  to  devolve  upon  firms  or  individuals  which  act  as  sub-agents 
between  themselves  and  the  mills,  thus  placing  upon  other  shoulders 
the  burden  of  the  increased  cost. 

Limitations  of  Sales  Department  Managers. 

These  intermediaries  are  too  often  simply  firms  composed  of  a 
couple  of  cheap  salesmen  of  no  financial  worth  whatsoever,  who  at 
times  may  hardly  be  able  to  find  the  money  for  needed  traveling  ex- 
penses, and  who  are  in  no  position  to  engage  salesmen  of  the  type 
required  for  the  effective  selling  of  the  product  of  the  mill. 

Functions  Retained  by  the  Commission  Houses. 

The  commission  houses,  in  such  cases,  still  look  after  the  guaran- 
teeing and  collection  of  accounts,  the  cashing  of  sales,  and  their  busi- 
ness of  money  lending,  in  which  they  advance  money  upon  the  pledge 
of  personal  property  upon  which  they  hold  a  lien. 

A  very  large  number  of  mills  seem  to  exist  for  no  other  purpose 
than  for  furnishing  business  to  the  selling  agents.  They  certainly 
make  no  money  for  themselves,  though  their  factors  do. 

All  Should  be  Interested  in  the  Mill  Profits. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  remarked  that  no  mill  is  likely  to  make 
money  unless  those  who  have  charge  of  its  direction,  its  sales,  and  its 
credits,  have  to  depend  for  a  substantial  portion  of  their  compensation 
upon  a  share  in  the  net  profits  of  the  mill,  instead  of  upon  the  volume 
of  its  sales  and  the  commissions  thereon. 


XXII 

THE  RELATIONS   BETWEEN   MILLS  AND  THEIR 
SALESMEN. 


For  the  success  of  any  business,  it  is  most  essential  that  the  best  un- 
derstanding should  exist  between  the  principals  and  the  salesmen  who 
represent  them  in  the  market. 

This  is  far  from  being  the  case  in  the  textile  manufacturing  in- 
dustry, and  many  employers,  in  private  conversation,  will  be  heard 
to  speak  most  disparagingly  about  salesmen  as  a  class,  while  the  latter 
will  discourse  among  themselves  with  much  freedom  about  the  par- 
ticularly poor  goods  that  the  mills  they  represent  produce,  the  absurd 
prices  that  they  are  expected  to  get  for  them,  and  their  private  belief 
that  the  goods  of  nearly  every  other  competitor  are  better  than  what 
they  themselves  are  obliged  to  sell. 

It  is  proposd  here  to  consider  some  of  the  points  that  lead  to  fric- 
tion in  practice  between  employer  and  employee,  so  that  a  clearer  un- 
derstanding of  them  may  be  arrived  at. 

Requisites  of  Salesmanship. 

To  sell  goods  well,  as  to  do  anything  well,  is  no  easy  task.  It 
requires  hard  and  constant  work,  much  thought  and  planning,  con- 
siderable physical  work  and  fatigue,  the  cultivation  of  a  wide  and 
friendly  acquaintance,  and  a  courage  and  perseverance  that  nothing 
can  dishearten.  If,  added  to  these  qualifications,  the  salesman  has  an 
inborn  capacity  for  persuading  people,  and  a  sound  training  in  his 
art,  he  will  probably  make  the  kind  of  salesman  that  we  all  wish  for. 
How  many  do? 

The  writer  has  had  lots  of  experience,  and  is  under  no  illusions 
on  the  subject.  Barring  exceptional  times,  and  exceptional  lines  of 


MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN  267 

merchandise,  selling  goods  is  hard  and  very  often  most  discouraging 
work. 

It  may  be  presumed  that,  on  the  whole,  the  goods  offered  by  each 
competing  house  are,  value  for  value,  about  on  a  parity  or  nearly  so, 
and  that  in  getting  the  orders  it  is  largely  a  question  of  the  personality 
of  the  salesman  rather  than  of  the  difference  in  value  of  what  they 
have  to  offer. 

The  House  Must  Back  Up  the  Salesman. 

Those  managers  who  loyally  back  up  their  salesmen  are  likely  to 
get  loyal  service  in  return.  If  a  salesman's  customers  realize  that 
what  he  says  "goes,"  and  that  approaching  his  employers  over  his 
head  will  simply  result  in  their  confirming  the  salesman's  quotations 
and  terms  (even  if  they  might  otherwise  have  asked  higher  figures, 
or  might  have  been  willing  to  sell  at  lower  ones),  they  will  look  upon 
him  as  headquarters,  and  can  trade  with  far  more  confidence  than 
would  otherwise  be  the  case. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  managers  or  partners  notoriously  cut  the 
ground  from  under  the  feet  of  their  salesmen  by  selling  goods  at  lower 
prices  than  their  men  have  been  allowed  to  quote,  and  so  completely 
nullify  their  efforts. 

They  argue  that  they  cannot  let  their  salesmen  become  aware  of 
the  fact  that  on  certain  lines  of  goods  they  would  rather  cut  the  price 
in  special  cases  than  let  the  business  go  past,  feeling  that  their  men 
would  then  be  likely  to  quote  the  reduced  price  to  everybody,  which 
would  usually  be  the  case. 

I  know  one  gentleman  who,  when  he  was  a  salesman,  used  to  pro- 
test bitterly  against  this  practice,  while  now,  as  a  member  of  a  firm, 
he  is  treating  his  own  salesmen  in  exactly  the  same  way.  The  habit 
is  a  bad  one,  but  it  seems  easy  to  acquire. 

Profit  Making  the  Primary  Object. 

In  selling  goods,  the  primary  object  should  be  to  get  a  good  profit, 
or  some  profit,  on  them,  and,  unless  this  can  be  accomplished  on  the 
bulk  of  the  goods  sold,  the  mill  making  them  cannot  go  on  producing 
indefinitely. 

What  Training  Does  the  Salesman  Get? 

Considering  the  difficulties  of  the  salesman's  work,  and  the  many 
and  special  qualifications  that  should  be  brought  to  it,  one  would 
imagine  that  a  long  and  arduous  special  training  would  be  desirable 
and  necessary.  It  is  necessary,  but  the  salesmen  do  not  get  it,  and  the 
fruits  of  their  exertions  are,  therefore,  of  much  less  value  than  what 
they  properly  should  be. 

Let  us  see  how  a  salesman  graduates.  He  starts  in  a  commission 
house  as  office-boy  or  stock-boy,  keeps  the  sample  pieces  clean  and 
in  proper  shape,  cuts  up  samples,  helps  the  salesmen  in  various  ways, 
is  sent  to  the  warehouse  to  re-pack  and  re-assort  cases,  etc.,  etc.  Then, 


268  MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN 

on  very  busy  days  when  all  the  salesmen  are  occupied,  he  sells  a  few 
goods  to  some  customer  who  can  get  no  one  else  to  wait  on  him  and 
is  in  a  hurry.  As  he  grows  older  he  gets  more  chances  to  sell  in  the 
store,  and  if  he  is  ambitious  he  gets  permission  to  take  out  some  sam- 
ples and  drum  up  small  trade  in  the  city  that  is  not  being  looked 
after  by  the  regular  salesmen.  Presuming  that  he  is  a  bright,  smart, 
and  pleasant  fellow  it  will  not  be  very  long  before  he  begins  to  build 
up  quite  a  respectable  trade,  and  in  time  he  becomes  one  of  the  regular 
city  salesmen. 

Then,  some  fine  day,  there  is  a  vacancy  on  the  road,  perhaps  in  a 
very  good  territory,  and  he  is  given  the  chance.  His  good  qualities 
serve  him  as  well  here  as  in  the  city,  and  perhaps  in  two  or  three 
years  more,  say  by  the  time  he  is  thirty,  he  is  one  of  the  important 
salesmen  for  that  house. 

We  will  go  further  and  suppose  that  later  on  a  manager  is  wanted 
for  the  department,  one  who  will  lay  out  work  for  the  mills,  coach 
them  on  styles  and  so  forth,  then,  as  likely  as  not,  our  successful  sales- 
man friend  will  be  selected  for  this  most  important  and  difficult  post 
by  the  commission  house  which,  of  course,  is  interested  in  sales  rather 
than  in  profits. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  all  of  this  experience  teaches  the  sales- 
man absolutely  nothing  about  the  necessity  of  making  a  profit,  and 
he  is  also  likely  to  be  very  ignorant  about  the  real  values  of  goods. 
When  samples  of  inferior  goods,  at  lower  prices,  are  pushed  up 
against  him,  he  is  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  they  are  better  or  worse 
than  his,  on  account  of  this  ignorance.  He  may  be  able,  however, 
to  give  a  very  sound  opinion  as  to  how  much  a  particular  fabric  will 
sell  for,  and  then  again  he  may  not. 

Justifiable  Discontent  of  Employers. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  with  such  a  deficiency  in  the  training  of 
most  salesmen,  and  many  department  managers,  that  manufacturers 
should  hold  the  views  regarding  them  that  they  do?  They  find  that 
these  men,  whose  salaries  they  are  paying,  are  special  pleaders  for 
their  customers;  are  using  their  best  efforts  to  get  the  lowest  prices 
on  goods  for  their  trade;  and  are  arguing  earnestly  to  get  accepted 
any  offers  that  have  been  made  to  them,  no  matter  how  low. 

So  long  as  an  offer,  no  matter  what,  is  accepted  by  the  house, 
the  salesman  will  generally  argue  that  it  must  have  been  satisfactory 
or  it  would  not  have  been  accepted,  and,  as  a  logical  sequence,  that 
the  regular  price  on  the  goods  must  show  a  fat  profit. 

While  his  principal  may  give  him  the  coldest  of  plain  facts  as  to 
the  real  cost  of  the  goods,  this  makes  little  impression  on  him,  in 
fact  he  often  believes  it  a  lie,  and  why?  Because  he  sees  salesmen 
of  competitors  anxiously  trying  to  book  business  on  samples  that 
seem  to  be  as  good,  or  better,  and  at  as  low,  or  lower,  prices,  and  he 


MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN  269 

simply  can't  believe  what  is  too  often  the  truth  that  every  one  of  them 
is  making  a  loss  on  every  yard  so  sold. 

Where  the  Employers  Are  at  Fault. 

What  incentive  has  a  salesman  to  work  for  a  profit?  Generally 
none  at  all,  and  it  is  the  failure  on  the  part  of  employers  to  recognize 
this  that  leads  to  the  waste  of  their  assets  and  makes  them  feel  at  times 
as  if  their  men  were  trying  to  give  their  goods  away.  If  employers 
are  going  to  expect  that  their  salespeople  will  lie  awake  at  nights  plan- 
ning how  to  plant  their  goods  at  a  profit  they  must  arrange  that  these 
men  will  either  benefit  or  suffer  in  pocket,  according  as  they  are  suc- 
cessful or  unsuccessful  in  this  respect.  The  roots  of  the  trouble 
lie  deep.  We  consider  ourselves  an  intensely  practical  people  and 
we  are  looking  for  results,  and  still  greater  results,  all  the  time. 
When  we  hire  a  man  we  are  impatient  if  he  does  not  earn  muc(hi 
more  than  his  salary  from  the  first  start  off.  His  compensation 
is  based  on  the  amount  of  goods  he  can  sell,  or  is  expected  to 
sell.  When  his  sales  increase  we  will,  generally  under  pressure 
from  the  salesman,  increase  his  salary.  When  business  is  bad, 
from  entirely  outside  causes,  we  may  cut  down  his  salary,  and  if  the 
depression  promises  to  be  long  continued  we  may  discharge  him,  and 
that  too  at  a  time  when  he  has  little  or  no  chance  to  get  another 
berth.  We  require  every  one  to  give  us  high-pressure  results  all  the 
time,  and  if,  from  no  fault  of  their  own,  it  cannot  be  done  we  make 
them  suffer  for  it. 

Salesmen  Compelled  to  Consider  Their  Personal  Interests. 

The  employee,  observing  how  solicitous  the  employer  is  about  his 
own  interest,  considers  that  he  likewise  must  look  out  for  himself. 
The  tenure  of  his  position  he  feels  to  be  an  uncertain  one.  If  out 
of  a  position,  what  is  there  that  will  help  him  to  a  similar  one  with 
another  house  ?  Why,  of  course,  the  knowledge  that  he  stands  so  well 
with  a  large  and  important  trade  that  he  can  carry  much  of  it 
with  him. 

He  thus  is  compelled  to  do  exactly  as  the  unjust  steward  in  the 
Scriptures  did,  who  could  not  dig  and  was  ashamed  to  beg,  and  he 
starts  out  to  make  himself  "solid"  with  his  customers.  He  tries  to 
get  for  them  inside  figures,  and,  even  when  they  would  readily  pay 
the  regular  prices,  he  may  suggest  to  them  the  making  of  lower  offers 
and  he  tries  to  get  these  offers  accepted.  If  he  knows  that  on  a  line 
of  goods,  selling  fairly  freely,  say,  at  $1.00,  his  house,  on  account  of 
it  being  well  along  in  the  season  and  their  having  quite  a  lot  of  the 
goods  left,  would  not  decline  firm  offers  of  poc.,  not  one  of  his  cus- 
tomers will,  after  that,  be  asked  to  pay  a  cent  more  than  that  figure. 
He  hustles  also  to  see  that  his  trade  gets  the  cream  of  everything  in 
the  way  of  assortments,  deliveries,  or  what  not. 


270  MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN 

Such  services,  being  valuable  to  the  customers,  make  them  friendly 
to  the  salesman,  as  distinguished  from  the  house  he  represents,  and 
if,  in  time,  he  hangs  his  hat  up  under  another  roof,  much  of  this  trade 
will  follow  him  and  is  lost  to  the  house  that  has  been  employing  him. 

Thus,  the  net  result  of  our  eagerness  for  volume  of  sales  has  been 
to  create  a  condition  well  calculated  to  wipe  out  any  chance  of  the 
profits  we  expected  to  make,  and  we  have  compelled  our  salesmen  to 
work  first  for  themselves,  secondly,  for  their  customers,  and  lastly 
for  us. 

European  Methods  are  Different. 

Things  in  Europe  are  done  differently.  Employees  may  not  be 
paid  as  much,  but,  if  they  behave  themselves  and  attend  to  their  busi- 
ness, they  need  have  little  fear  of  losing  their  positions  when  business 
is  bad,  and  the  really  smart  men  get  ahead  there  as  they  do  everywhere 
else.  Thus,  the  staff  of  a  house  is  to  a  great  degree  permanent,  and 
in  a  well  organized  business  the  owner  can  keep  it  going  in  a  very 
satisfactory  manner  with  a  minimum  of  personal  attention.  An  Amer- 
ican merchant  is  afraid  to  be  much  away  from  his  work,  for  fear  that 
if  he  is  some  of  his  employees  will  get  the  business  away  from  him. 

Salaries  Based  on  Volume  of  Sales  Instead  of  on  Profits  Made. 

Under  present  conditions,  salesmen  see  that  it  is  volume  of  sales, 
not  profits  made  or  losses  avoided,  that  counts  in  getting  them  more 
salary.  What  is  needed  is  a  policy  that  will,  in  some  way  or  another, 
make  them  sharers  in  the  profits,  coupled  with  the  giving  to  them 
some  opportunity  to  learn  more  about  their  merchandise  than  they 
can  at  present. 

Many  French  manufacturers  employ  their  important  salesmen  on 
a  basis  on  which  by  far  the  greater  part  of  their  income  is  derived 
from  a  share  in  the  profits,  the  fixed  part  of  their  salary  being  quite 
minor  in  character.  They  have  no  right  to  "go  behind  the  returns,"  call 
for  an  accounting,  and  overhaul  the  inventory,  as  no  doubt  many 
people  here  would  think  it  proper  to  do  under  similar  circumstances. 
The  firm  or  company  simply  announces  that  the  profit  has  been  so  and 
so  much,  and  each  receives  his  agreed  percentage.  It  works  well  in 
practice,  but,  of  course,  the  good  faith  of  the  employer  must  be  be- 
yond question.  These  salesmen  are  not  trying  to  see  how  cheap  they 
can  sell  the  goods,  but  rather  what  is  the  most  they  can  get  for  them, 
and  selling  goods  at  a  loss  or  without  profit,  just  to  make  sales,  is 
something  they  cannot  comprehend. 

With  our  system  here,  it  is  notorious  that  the  great  volume  of  the 
sales  of  many  high  priced  and  highly  considered  salesmen,  selling  an 
ocean  of  stuff,  is,  at  the  best,  the  exchanging  of  an  old  dollar  for  a 
new  one,  and  the  employer  will  be  fortunate  if  he  does  not  wake  up 
to  find  that  it  has  been  the  exchanging  of  the  dollar  for  ninety  cents. 


MILLS  AND    THEIR   SALESMEN  271 

Services  of  Valuable  Men  Often  Underrated. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  a  few  men  so  constituted  that  the 
making  of  a  loss,  even  at  some  one  else's  expense,  is  abhorrent  to 
them.  Such  men  will  sell  all  regular  goods  at  a  profit  and  will  always 
try  for  the  highest  price  and  frequently  get  it.  If  there  are  old  or 
odd  lots  of  goods  in  stock,  they  take  care  to  have  them  properly  sam- 
pled, and  give  every  customer  that  they  can  a  chance  at  any  rate  to 
see  them,  and  so  manage  to  place  quite  a  few  pieces  that  would  other- 
wise continue  to  repose  under  the  counters.  When  it  is  not  on  the 
cards  to  get  regular  prices  on  these  left-overs  they  will  get  good 
offers,  which,  while  perhaps  showing  a  small  loss,  will  avoid  a  much 
greater  loss  that  might  be  inevitable  later  on.  Such  salesmen  will 
not  generally  sell  a  great  volume  of  goods,  and  in  consequence  are 
frequently  but  poorly  considered  and  ill  rewarded,  but  in  all  that 
makes  for  the  ability  of  the  mill  to  pay  dividends,  their  work  is  of 
infinitely  greater  value  than  that  of  those  showy  and  highly  rewarded 
men  who  can  sell  untold  quantities  of  desirable  goods  at  50  cents  a 
yard  that  cost  55  cents  to  make. 

Paying  Salesmen  a  Commission,  and  Its  Difficulties. 
Salesmen,  working  in  whole,  or  in  part,  upon  commission,  notori- 
ously neglect  old  accumulations  of  goods,  alleging  that  they  cannot 
afford  to  waste  their  time  trying  to  peddle  off  such  stock.  Such 
stock,  therefore,  is  left  to  take  care  of  itself,  which  it  does  later  on 
either  under  the  hammer,  or  as  a  job  at  private  sale,  to  the  tune  of 
50  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  a  hundred  pieces  so  slaughtered  will  wipe 
out  the  profit  of  a  thousand  pieces  sold  at  regular  prices. 

Difficulty  of  Getting  Men  to  Help  in  Profit  Making. 

An  illustration  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  men  to  work  for  a  profit 
is  seen  when  a  mill  has  some  goods  on  hand  of  a  shade  badly  wanted, 
and  when,  even  then,  their  own  salesmen  can  get  nothing  extra  for 
them.  It  often  happens  that  such  a  hot  demand  develops  for  a  special 
color  that  every  yard  is  cleaned  out  of  the  market  and  1 5-yard  lengths 
are  being  cut  and  sent  forward  from  the  mills,  and  the  retailers  are 
asking  and  getting  10  cents  a  yard  extra  for  the  color. 

Now,  if  a  manufacturer  had  foreseen  the  demand  for  this  shade 
and,  as  a  gamble,  had  made  a  thousand  pieces  earlier  in  the  season, 
and  had  put  them  in  a  vault  with  a  time-lock  that  would  not  open 
till,  say,  April  I5th,  and  if  at  that  time  this  red-hot  demand  existed, 
would  he  then  ,  reap  the  5  or  10  cents  a  yard  extra  profit  that  hjis 
foresight,  and  the  great  risk  he  had  taken,  would  entitle  him  to?  On 
your  life  he  would  not.  His  men,  one  and  all,  would  urge  on  him 
the  inadvisability  of  forcing  their  customers  to  pay  an  extra  price 
just  because  he  "happened"  to  have  a  color  that  they  wanted,  and, 


272  MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN 

unless  possibly  for  a  few  pieces  to  some  outsiders,  he  would  see  the 
lot  melt  away  without  a  penny  of  benefit. 

If  he  missed  his  guess,  and  the  color  made  was  not  wanted,  would 
his  men  then  work  extra  hard  and  struggle  to  sell  that  lot  at  regular 
prices?  Mighty  seldom.  Their  indifference  to  it  would  be  superb, 
and  they  would  privately  consider  the  employer  an  ass,  both  for  making 
the  goods  and  expecting  them  to  do  extra  work  in  trying  to  sell  them. 

Stock  Goods  Held  in  Small  Esteem 

For  some  inexplicable  reason,  goods  on  hand,  except  such  as  are 
in  most  active  request  and  going  out  rapidly,  seem  to  be  regarded 
by  most  salesmen  as  jobs,  as  something  that  they  can  hardly  be 
expected  to  do  much  business  on  at  regular  prices,  though,  if  shelves 
were  absolutely  empty,  they  would  be  the  first  to  declare  that  they 
must  have  a  reasonable  stock  on  hand  to  do  business  on. 

If  goods  are  not  yet  made,  and  advance  orders  are  to  be  booked, 
the  salesmen  can  be  firm  enough  in  fighting  for  the  price,  perhaps 
because  they  realize  that  in  that  case  nothing  lower  will  be  accepted. 
But  the  stock  goods  they  seem  to  have  no  liking  for,  no  matter  how 
fresh  and  good  they  may  He,  and  they  have  no  heart  to  push  them. 
If  a  selling  office  kept  a  record  of  just  what  happened  each  year 
and  every  year  to  these  goods  that  the  salesmen  think  it  necessary  to 
have  in  stock  to  do  business  on,  I  believe  that  many  of  them  would 
realize  that,  outside  of  their  sample  pieces,  stock  goods,  even  small 
lines  of  them,  are  nothing  but  money  sinkers.  The  goods  the  sales- 
man has  to  wait  for  he  esteems.  What  he  has  on  hand  he  despises. 

Salesmen's  Confidence  Weakened  by  Buyers'  Tactics. 

The  majority  of  salesmen  lend  a  ready  ear  to  the  tales  told  them 
by  customers  of  the  low  prices  that  other  houses  are  making,  tales 
which  are  sometimes  true,  sometimes  false,  but  mostly  only  half-truths, 
some  fact  lying  behind  which,  if  stated,  would  entirely  alter  the  com- 
plexion of  the  case. 

These  adverse  figures  are  habitually  quoted  to  salesmen  by  buyers, 
even  when  they  are  not  open  at  the  time  to  make  purchases,  on  the 
general  principle  that  they  tend  to  break  down  the  salesman's  confi- 
dence in  his  goods  and  so  help  towards  the  lowering  of  prices.  Then, 
when  the  salesman  asks  for  cuttings  of  the  goods  quoted,  which  it  is 
expected  he  will,  they  are  given  to  him  apparently  as  a  special  favor, 
and  he  then  goes  running  back  to  his  manager  with  them  to  show 
how  impossible  it  is  for  him  to  do  business  at  the  prices  he  is  ex,- 
pected  to  get.  Thus,  salesmen  are  constantly  bombarding  their  man- 
agers with  bear  arguments  of  this  nature,  and,  in  the  aggregate,  they 
may  succeed  in  creating  such  an  atmosphere  of  doubt  and  depression 
in  the  sales  office,  as  eventually  leads  to  such  a  cutting  of  prices  as 
eliminates  any  chance  of  profit.  When  one  house  does  so  it  is  promptly 
reported  round  the  trade,  and  other  houses  think  themselves  compelled 


MILLS  AND    THEIR   SALESMEN  273 

to  follow  suit,  with  the  result  that  they  are  all  again  in  the  same 
boat,  but  at  a  lower  level  of  prices  than  before. 

The  writer  has  often  given  to  some  friendly  buyer  the  samples  so 
brought  in  by  salesmen,  with  a-  request  to  have  a  piece  of  the  goods 
bought  for  him,  only  to  find  that  no  such  price  as  quoted  had  ever 
been  made  on  the  regular  goods,  and  in  some  instances  that  the  cloth 
quoted  as  being  52^  cents,  and  which  was  visibly  superior,  was  the 
competing  mill's  62^ -cent  grade  instead  of  its  5 2^  -cent  grade,  as 
represented  by  the  customer. 

This  disbelief  in  their  merchandise,  and  the  consequent  looking  for 
reasons  why  it  will  not  sell  freely,  becomes  a  fixed  habit  with  many 
salesmen,  so  that  they  become  really  adverse  factors  in  the  business 
instead  of  a  help  to  it ;  so  it  is  no  wonder  that  their  principals  at  times 
feel  so  bitterly  towards  them,  as  a  class,  as  they  do. 

Mill  Experience  a  Help. 

Some  experience  at  the  mills  might  well  help  to  correct  this  tend- 
ency. Salesmen  would  then  gain  the  personal  knowledge  that  no  one 
has  any  patent  on  the  making  of  good  and  cheap  merchandise;  that, 
when  everything  is  taken  into  account,  the  New  Jersey  mill  may  do 
as  well  as  its  Pennsylvania  competitor ;  that,  between  large  mills,  work- 
ing on  the  same  or  similar  fabrics,  there  can  be  but  little  difference 
in  their  costs,  outside  of  their  luck  in  purchasing  raw-silk,  which  is 
as  likely  to  favor  one  mill  as  the  other ;  and,  finally,  that  each  of  these 
competing  mills  is  no  more  able  or  willing  to  do  business  without 
profit,  or  at  a  loss,  than  the  other. 

Knowing,  then,  the  ability  of  their  own  mill  to  get  out  its  goods 
cheaply  and  right  in  all  respects,  and  knowing  that  the  prices  have 
been  fixed  on  a  very  close  basis,  the  stiffness  of  the  backbone  of  the 
selling  force  would  be  wonderfully  different  from  what  it  usually  is, 
and  their  faith  in  their  goods  would  be  absolute. 

Difficulties  Entailed  by  Distributers'  Methods. 
The  efforts  of  even  the  best  salesmen  are  much  thwarted  by  the 
conditions  under  which  the  retail  dry  goods  business  is  at  present 
conducted.  Large  houses  have  been  adding  more  and  more  depart- 
ments to  their  establishments,  even  so  diverse  from  dry  goods  as  meats 
and  sporting  goods.  The  profits  from  many  of  these  new  activities 
have  been  so  satisfactory  that  they  have  been  encouraged  to  add 
still  more  of  them,  and  this  spreading  out  has  been  done  to  a  great 
extent  without  a  corresponding  increase  in  capital.  The  result  has 
been  that  the  purely  dry  goods  departments  are  often  starved  for 
lack  of  working  capital,  and  each  one  is  held  down  to  the  narrowest 
limits  of  purchase  by  the  financial  management  working  through  the 
so-called  merchandise  man.  The  buyer  may  need  goods  badly  for  his 
stock,  and  be  as  anxious  to  purchase  them  as  the  seller  is  to  sell  them, 
but  he  is  not  permitted  to  buy. 


274  MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN 

Low-cost  Production  and  Low-priced  Salesmen. 

Finding  that  the  retaining  of  high-priced  salesmen  does  not  result 
in  their  getting  a  better  price  for  their  merchandise,  some  mills  pursue 
another  course.  A  mill  of  large  size,  we  will  say,  that  caters  to  the 
cutting-up  trade,  will  run  its  looms  fast  on  low  qualities  of  goods, 
and  make  split-edge  goods  largely,  and  confine  itself  to  a  very  few 
fabrics.  It  will  have  an  output,  therefore,  of  large  volume,  made  at 
small  expense,  of  low  cost  per  inch,  and  designed  for  a  trade  that 
uses  a  lot  of  stuff  and  is  hungry  for  good  values.  If  but  a  close 
working  profit  is  put  on  such  goods,  they  will  sell  freely  on  their 
merits,  and  without  argument,  to  such  trade. 

An  output  such  as  this  should  cost  but  little  to  sell,  and  it  may 
be  handled  by  one  man  of  experience,  to  assist  the  manager,  and  as 
many  clean,  active  young  gentlemen,  on  very  small  salaries,  as  may 
be  necessary  to  run  around  with  samples  and  keep  in  touch  with  the 
trade.  In  this  case  it  is  the  value  offered  that  is  counted  on  to  sell 
the  goods,  not  the  men. 

Inducements  to  Work  for  Profits. 

Returning  to  the  question  of  how  to  get  salesmen  to  work  for 
profits,  it  is  first  necessary  to  have  a  system  that  will  show  just  what 
the  profits  and  losses  are  on  the  sales  that  each  man  makes. 

A  system  could  be  arranged  by  which  a  confidential  man  in  the 
office  would  be  furnished  with  the  fair,  actual  cost  of  all  the  fabrics, 
and  would  figure  out  and  pencil  in  the  net  loss  or  profit  on  each  sale 
in  the  salesbook.  Of  course,  in  the  case  of  old,  defective,  or  real 
job  goods,  a  proper  allowance  in  costs  would  have  to  be  arranged. 

The  profit  or  loss  so  shown  would  then  be  posted  both  to  the 
salesman's  account  and  to  that  of  his  customer.  By  posting  to  the 
customer's  account  the  management  can  tell,  on  looking  over  the  sea- 
son's figures,  just  what  houses,  or  classes  of  trade,  they  have  made 
jmoney  by  and  what  houses  they  have  lost  by,  or  not  profited  by. 
The  unprofitable  trade,  no  matter  how  large  the  individual  houses  or 
accounts,  they  may  find  it  wise  to  let  alone  in  the  future,  and  so; 
concentrate  their  efforts  in  the  directions  where  most  profit  is  to 
be  reaped. 

The  salesmen's  accounts,  in  like  manner,  will  not  only  show  just 
what  volume  of  goods  they  have  sold,  but  what  has  been  made  or 
lost  on  the  sales,  and  when  the  question  of  fixing  salaries  comes  up 
the  management  will  be  pretty  well  informed  as  to  the  real  worth  to 
the  house  of  each  of  the  men.  If  a  salesman  realized  that  the  profit 
made  by  him  would  be  a  factor  in  determining  his  next  year's  salary 
there  would  be  fewer  low  offers  for  goods  reported.  The  quiet,  hard- 
working fellow,  who  really  did  make  profits,  would  be  brought  to  the 
front  in  this  way. 


MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN  275 

Interests  of  Mill  and  Sales  Office  the  Same. 

In  regard  to  this  question  of  costs  and  profits,  the  welfare  of  the 
mill  and  of  its  selling  staff  should  be  one  and  indivisible.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  a  separation  of  their  interests  without  loss  to  both,  and 
whatever  profit-sharing  is  arranged  for  must  be  on  the  net  results 
of  the  business  as  a  whole.  Manufacturers  must  not  try  to  be  "smart" 
with  their  people  and  figure  against  them  so  as  to  cut  down  their 
returns,  nor  must  salesmen  imagine  that,  just  because  a  mill  is  running 
at  full  blast,  money  is  being  made.  If,  however,  salesmen's  salaries 
were  fixed  on  some  profit-sharing  basis  by  the  mills,  active  employ- 
ment of  machinery  would  then  generally  mean  that  profits  were  being 
made,  which  is  by  no  means  the  case  at  present. 

Value  of  the  P.  M.  System. 

If  the  P.  M.,  or  premium,  system,  much  employed  by  retail  shops, 
were  judiciously  used  by  manufacturers,  or  their  agents,  it  would  be 
a  great  help  in  moving  old  or  undesirable  goods,  and  in  avoiding 
losses.  If  the  season  were  advancing  and  a  lot  of  fancies  at  $1.00  a 
yard  were  dragging,  a  P.  M.  of  10  cents  a  yard  would  insure  their 
being  shown  and  pushed  by  the  whole  selling  force,  and  a  probable 
subsequent  loss  of  25  or  50  cents  a  yard  on  their  final  sale  might  be 
avoided.  This  interesting  of  the  salesmen  in  minimizing  prospective 
losses  is  a  very  proper  way  of  profit  saving. 

Complaints  Based  on  Ignorance. 

A  lack  of  understanding  of  the  processes  of  manufacture  leads  to 
the  voicing  of  many  complaints  by  salesmen  that  otherwise  would  not 
be  made.  They  cannot  understand  why  each  piece  of  goods  of  the 
same  kind  is  not  an  exact  duplicate  of  each  other  piece  in  weight, 
finish,  texture  and  color;  why  defective  places  should  be  found  in 
goods;  why  deliveries  are  so  slow;  and  why,  when  some  special  color 
is  wanted,  the  half  of  the  mill  cannot  be  run  on  it  forthwith. 

They  do  not  realize  that  months  of  preparation  lie  back  of  the 
output  of  each  loom;  that  when  many  colors  are  offered  for  sale 
(and  where  is  the  salesman  who  does  not  say  that  a  large  line  is  a 
necessity?)  there  must  be  fewer  looms  devoted  to  each  color,  and,  as 
the  demand  cannot  be  foreseen,  assortments  will  always  be  slow  of 
completion;  that  when  orders  come  late  for  delivery  it  is  often  be- 
cause proper  time  has  not  been  allowed  for  their  manufacture,  the 
buyer  having  fought  for  short  time  and  the  sales  office  having  granted 
it.  This  is  a  usual  custom  for  buyers  to  pursue,  as  it  leaves  them 
in  a  position  to  decline  the  goods  if  they  are  late  for  delivery  in  case 
they  find  later  on  that  they  would  as  soon  not  have  them. 

Salesman's  Courage  Should  be  Fortified. 

Salesmen,  of  course,  are  not  mill  men  and  cannot  be  expected  to 
have  any  intimate  knowledge  of  that  end  of  the  business.  Many 


276  MILLS  AND    THEIR   SALESMEN 

manufacturers  regard  it  as  very  undesirable  that  they  should  have 
any  knowledge  of  it  at  all,  but  this  view  I  believe  to  be  a  mistake. 

Consider  how  strong  the  faith  of  a  salesman  would  be  in  his 
merchandise,  and  how  great  his  consequent  courage  in  standing  out 
for  a  price,  if  he  had  been  either  employed  in  the  mills  or  had  been 
much  in  and  about  them,  where  he  would  have  seen  a  great  organ- 
ization working  with  the  best  machinery,  materials,  and  methods,  and 
operated  in  the  ablest  and  most  economical  manner;  a  place  where 
every  energy  was  directed  to  the  making  of  the  most  perfect  merchan- 
dise at  the  minimum  of  cost. 

Such  a  man  does  not  have  to  be  told  that  his  goods  are  right  and 
his  values  as  good  as  any  one's.  He  knows  it,  and  the  firmness  of  his 
knowledge  and  belief  impresses  others.  When  his  bottom  price  for  a 
fabric  is  52^2  cents  and  a  customer  throws  out  at  him  an  article, 
apparently  as  good,  that  he  claims  to  be  buying  at  42^  cents,  such 
a  thing  does  not  shake  his  courage  and  belief  in  his  goods.  He  knows 
the  adverse  quotation  has  something  back  of  it,  a  closing-out  price, 
some  bad  colors,  a  lot  of  seconds,  or  a  lie,  and  he  could  seldom  have 
this  real,  as  opposed  to  expressed,  belief  in  his  stuff  if  he  had  not 
had  the  mill  experience. 

The  salesman  who  has  not  been  so  fortified,  cannot  be  expected 
to  have  that  ingrained  belief  in  his  goods  that  is  necessary  to  keep  up 
his  nerve  and  fortitude  in  the  face  of  lower  prices  and  adverse 
criticisms,  and,  like  Bob  Acres,  he  finds  his  courage  oozing  out  of  the 
tips  of  his  fingers,  and  so,  lacking  the  entire  faith  in  his  wares,  he 
becomes  mentally  unable  to  put  up  the  fight  that  would  result  in  the 
selling  of  his  goods  at  the  prices  asked. 

Method  Employed  by  One  House. 

This  matter  of  fortifying  the  courage  of  the  salesman  is  so  im- 
portant that  I  knew  of  one  large  domestic  commission  house  (and  no 
doubt  others  do  it)  which  used  to  call  in  its  men  from  the  road — even 
those  travelling  far  afield — at  regular  intervals,  and  it  took  a  good  deal 
of  money,  as  well  as  of  the  salesmen's  time,  to  do  so. 

They  argued  that,  from  the  time  the  salesman  started  on  his  trip, 
he  had  been  encountering  nothing  but  criticism  of  his  goods,  and  had 
been  bombarded  with  low  adverse  quotations,  with  a  consequent  weak- 
ening of  his  belief  in  the  merit  and  value  of  his  goods. 

By  calling  him  home  he  would  see  for  himself  the  heavy  trade  daily 
being  done,  the  full  prices  that  were  being  got,  and  how  the  mlills 
were  being  sold  up. 

Then  in  a  few  days,  with  renewed  confidence  and  vigor,  the  sales- 
man would  set  forth  once  more. 

This  they  called  "repainting  their  salesmen." 


MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN  277 

Value  of  Letting  Salesmen  Know  More  About  the  Mills. 

If  the  relationship  between  a  mill  and  its  salesmen  were  of  a  more 
permanent  character,  and  if,  in  that  event,  each  salesman  could  spend 
some  weeks  every  year  at  the  mills,  there  would  be  a  much  stronger 
body  of  salesmen,  a  proper  appreciation  on  their  part  of  what  a  mill 
should  be  expected  to  do,  and  a  much  better  understanding  all  around. 

The  National  Cash  Register  Co.,  whose  success  has  been  most  re- 
markable, graduates  its  salesmen  largely  from  the  factory  force,  and, 
in  addition,  instructs  them  in  salesmanship.  These  salesmen  never 
weaken  on  their  goods  or  lose  faith  in  them. 

Trouble  Caused  by  Haphazard  Sampling. 

The  random  sampling  of  goods  by  salesmen,  without  consultation 
with  the  heads  of  the  departments,  is  a  source  of  much  trouble  and 
leads  to  practical  misrepresentation  of  the  goods. 

All  textile  fabrics,  owing  to  unavoidable  natural  causes,  are  sub- 
ject to  more  or  less  difference  in  weight,  touch,  etc.,  and  while  part 
of  this  difference  is  counteracted  in  the  finishing  process  some  of  it 
will  remain. 

Owing  to  the  effect  of  the  dyestuffs  on  the  fibre,  the  different 
colors  in  a  line  may  feel  quite  differently,  though  made  alike  in  all 
other  respects.  Thus,  a  piece  of  cardinal  taffeta  can  usually  be  counted 
on  to  feel  far  superior  to  a  piece  of  light  gray,  or  beige,  of  the  same 
quality. 

Again,  even  in  the  same  line  of  goods,  there  may  be  manufacturing 
differences  existing  between  pieces  apparently  the  same.  The  manu- 
facturer is  striving  to  get  out  goods  that  are  perfect  and  well-finished 
merchandise,  and  that  will  be  regular  in  every  respect.  He  has,  how- 
ever, to  deal  with  a  very  irregular  material,  and  has  in  addition  the 
trouble  caused  by  the  unavoidable  variations  in  the  weightings  put 
on  his  silk  by  the  dyer.  In  the  making  of  his  goods,  therefore,  he 
will  find  that,  owing  to  these  causes,  some  of  his  lots  come  extra  light 
and  some  extra  heavy.  Wherever  possible  he  will  balance  heavy  warp 
with  light  filling,  or  vice  versa.  Where  both  warp  and  filling  run 
light  or  heavy,  he  may  have  to  modify  the  construction  by  putting  in 
more,  or  fewer,  warp  and  filling  threads  to  the  inch,  as  the  case  may 
be,  and  so  he  produces  a  cloth  of  different  construction  from  the  rest 
of  the  goods  in  the  line,  but  which,  as  a  piece  of  finished  merchandise, 
is  practically  the  same  as  the  others.  There  are  other  causes  that  will 
compel  a  manufacturer,  in  occasional  instances,  to  deviate  from  his 
regular  methods  of  construction,  his  aim  in  most  of  such  cases  being 
to  get  his  goods  right,  without  consideration  of  the  little  differences 
in  the  costs. 

It  is  obvious  that  such  exceptional  pieces,  which  differ  in  con- 
struction, weight,  dye,  size  of  silk,  etc.,  from  the  line  they  are  in, 


278  MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN 

should  never  be  used  as  types  of  the  cloth,  as  they  do  not  properly 
represent  the  goods. 

A  salesman,  however,  wanting  to  show  a  swatch  of  the  goods  to 
a  customer,  when  trying  for  an  order,  will  open  up  a  lot  of  pieces  and, 
after  examining  and  feeling  them  all,  will  pick  out  the  one  that  seems 
heaviest  and  best  and  take  a  cut  from  that. 

This  practice  leads  to  all  kinds  of  trouble.  The  customer  keeps 
part  of  the  sample  and  expects  all  the  goods  delivered  to  equal  it, 
and,  as  the  piece  it  was  cut  from  will  naturally  be  an  extra-good  one, 
very  few  of  them  will  be  equal  to  it,  and  the  buyer  will  be  dissatisfied 
and  return  what  he  will  describe  as  the  light  pieces.  The  piece  sam- 
pled may  also  just  happen  to  be  an  odd  one,  and  may  have  five  or 
ten  per  cent,  more  picks  or  ends  than  usual,  and  here  again,  if  the 
customer  counts  them,  he  may  claim  that  the  goods  delivered  are  dif- 
ferent from  the  sample  from  which  he  ordered,  and  he  is  quite  within 
his  rights  in  doing  so. 

No  piece  of  goods  should  ever  be  used  as  a  sample,  or  type  piece, 
until  the  number  has  been  reported  to  the  mill  and  they  have  looked 
up  its  record  as  to  construction,  weighting,  finished  weight,  etc.,  and 
word  has  come  back  that  it  is  regular,  and  such  report  should  be 
confirmed  in  writing  to  avoid  future  controversy.  This  matter  of 
having  all  type  pieces  approved  is  a  simple  thing,  but  of  great  im- 
portance, though  very  seldom  done.  When  neglected,  it  always  seems 
to  happen  that,  somehow  or  another,  an  irregular  piece  is  selected  to 
sample  from. 

A  good  manager  of  a  sales  office  can  do  much  to  minimize  mis- 
understandings with  the  mill. 

Color  Matching  and  Its  Limitations. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  matter  of  matching  colors,  always  a  fruit- 
ful source  of  complaint.  Dyeing  is  not  an  exact  science  and  no  dyer 
will  guarantee  to  exactly  match  a  color,  though  he  will  come  so  close 
to  it  as  to  match  it  commercially.  He  may  come  a  shade  on  the 
dark  or  on  the  light  side.  Should  the  warp  be  dark  and  the  filling 
light,  or  vice  versa,  an  exact  match  in  the  fabric  may  be  had,  but  if 
both  warp  and  filling  are  on  the  dark  or  light  side  the  shade  will  be 
a  little  off,  and,  anyway,  matching  colors  in  the  skein,  either  at  the 
dyehouse  or  at  the  mill,  is  a  puzzling  matter  and  requires  much  skill 
and  judgment,  and  it  is  hard  to  say  just  how  the  shade  of  the  goods 
will  come  out  when  woven.  As,  therefore,  a  variation  may  be  looked 
for,  it  is  most  important  that  the  samples  for  color,  furnished  the  mill 
by  the  sales  office,  should  neither  be  the  very  lightest  nor  very 
darkest  tones  that  will  answer,  but  such  medium  tones  as  will  allow 
of  a  little  variation  on  either  side  without  getting  off  the  shade. 

How  common  it  is  to  hear  a  bitter  cry  raised  that  here  are  thirty 
pieces  of  navy,  and  five  or  more  different  shades  among  them  when 


MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN  279 

they  should  all  match.  Some  of  this  trouble  can  be  avoided  by  taking 
care  not  to  have  odd  pieces  of  different  dye  lots  lying  back,  but  to 
work  off  in  sequence  the  different  orders  as  they  come  in. 

Should  exactness  of  match  be  a  sine  qua  non,  it  can  be  had  by 
dyeing  up  the  whole  order  for  the  color,  perhaps  hundreds  of  pieces, 
at  one  time.  With  orders  running  from  fifty  to  five  hundred  pieces 
of  a  color  such  a  policy  would  lock  up  far  too  much  capital  in  dyed 
silk,  and,  if  a  change  in  taste  required  that  a  lot  of  the  looms  be 
switched  onto  other  fabrics  or  colors,  it  would  leave  a  stock  of  dyed 
silk  on  hand  that  could  never  be  woven  up  in  the  season  it  was  dyed 
for,  and  great  loss  might  be  entailed  thereby  in  interest,  deterioration 
of  silk,  and  passe  colors. 

The  dyeing  should  be  done  in  reasonable  sized  lots,  neither  too 
small  nor  too  large,  and  great  care  should  be  used  to  match  samples, 
and,  when  the  unavoidable  differences  arise,  the  goods  should  be  de- 
livered in  due  course  just  as  they  come.  Salesmen  with  a  mill  ex- 
perience would  understand  this  and  would  not  complain  at  not  being 
able  to  get  the  impossible. 

Mills  Left  in  the  Dark  as  to  Probable  Requirements. 

A  mill  has  to  buy  its  raw  material  long  ahead  of  its  orders  for 
goods,  and  has  to  secure  such  sizes  and  qualities,  and  in  such  quan- 
tities, as  are  likely  to  be  needed.  When  consulted  as  to  probable  needs, 
sales  managers  are  very  shy  of  expressing  an  opinion,  fearing  lest 
if,  for  instance,  they  should  say  that  they  would  likely  want  a  lot  of 
crepes,  and  the  mill  should  buy  Cantons  to  make  them,  and  they  should 
later  on  find  it  injudicious  to  bring  out  crepes,  that  they  would  be 
blamed  for  having  induced  the  mill  to  provide  silk  for  them.  Even 
when  salesroom  opinions  are  freely  given  they  are  often  wide  of  the 
mark,  and  in  these,  and  many  other  important  matters,  the  mill  has 
to  grope  its  way  the  best  it  can. 

What  is  of  real  importance  to  a  mill,  however,  is  a  daily  report 
from  the  salesroom  of  the  sales,  returns,  and  cancellations.  Advance 
order  business,  and  current  sales  from  stock,  should  be  noted  sep- 
arately, and  the  reasons  for  the  returns  or  cancellations  should  be 
stated. 

A  careful  study  of  this  data  will  give  the  man  at  the  mill  a  good 
idea  of  the  direction  of  the  demand,  and  when  he  sees  the  sale  of  cer- 
tain lines  of  goods  lagging,  or  of  other  lines  picking  up,  he  will  gov- 
ern kis  raw-silk  purchases  and  his  loom  dispositions  accordingly,  and 
will  thus  make  proper  arrangements  before  it  is  too  late. 

Should  there  be  any  signs  of  a  different  class  of  fabrics  being 
wanted,  the  mill  should  be  informed  at  the  earliest  moment.  It  is  no 
light  matter  for  a  mill  to  have  to  arrange  for  different  loom  equip- 
ment, special  qualities,  sizes  and  twists  of  silk,  and  the  rearrangement 
of  orders  already  laid  out  for.  It  is  seldom  good  policy  to  alter  much 


280  MILLS   AND    THEIR   SALESMEN 

the  production  arranged  for  at  the  beginning  of  a  season,  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  a  team  of  horses  will  not  make  fast  time  if  they  are  pulled 
up  on  their  haunches  at  each  cross-road.  Changes  of  product  in  the 
middle  of  a  season  lock  up  extra  capital  to  a  frightful  extent. 

Short  Warps  of  Undesirable  Colors. 

Sales  managers  understand  that  mills  like  to  make  no  short  warps, 
and  when  they  round  up  a  lot  of  plain  goods  orders  they  bulk  them 
together,  and  fill  out  the  quantities  to  full-length  warps.  In  such  cases 
the  pieces  actually  sold,  and  those  unsold,  should  be  marked  sep- 
arately, so  that  the  mill,  if  it  wished,  could  go  to  the  extra  trouble  and 
expense  of  making  short  warps  rather  than  make  excess  pieces  of 
hazardous  or  undesirable  colors. 

Sampling  in  Unprofitable  Directions. 

From  time  to  time  a  mill  is  called  on  to  sample  on  fabrics  that 
previous  experience  has  shown  to  be  money  losers,  and  yet  nothing 
will  convince  the  selling  force  to  that  effect.  Chameleon  taffeta  is 
one  such  fabric.  A  perfect  piece  of  chameleon,  of  good  quality,  could 
be  made  to  sell  at  a  figure  that  would  mean  a  retail  price  of  $2.00.  An 
imperfect  cloth  (as  to  irregular  color)  of  fair  quality  could  be  made 
to  retail  at  $1.00.  After  a  lot  of  sampling,  and  making  of  sample 
pieces  and  trifling  orders,  it  all  comes  back  to  the  same  old  story — 
the  buyer  wants  the  perfection  of  the  $2.00  article  in  the  $1.00  cloth, 
and  he  does  not  and  cannot  get  it,  so  he  drops  the  cloth. 

Louisine  is  another  fabric  on  which  much  effort  is  wasted.  To 
give  the  same  apparent  value  as  a  52^/2  -cent  taffeta,  in  a  louisine, 
would  mean  a  price  of  62^2  cents.  The  buyers,  in  the  end,  are  found 
to  want  the  62^2-cent  cloth  at  the  52j^-cent  price,  and  not  getting  it 
they  lose  interest. 

A  mill  might  properly  say,  when  invited  to  sample  on  louisines, 
chameleons,  hair-lines,  swivel-figured  taffetas,  and  other  money  losers, 
"We  regret  to  say  that  we  are  not  equipped  for  making  these  fabrics," 
and  not  allow  themselves  to  be  led  into  the  wasting  of  money  on 
them.  There  are,  on  doubt,  exceptional  cases  where  it  pays  to  make 
them,  but  I  would  let  the  other  fellow  take  the  chance. 

Avoid  Friction  and  Base  Salesman's  Reward  on  Profits. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  how  many  causes  of  discord 
there  are  between  mills  and  their  salesmen,  but  with  care  and  patience 
and  a  good  system  many  of  them  can  be  avoided,  and,  at  any  rate,  a 
good  understanding  of  them  will  remove  much  ill  feeling. 

The  great  problem  is  how  to  make  the  compensation  of  the  selling 
force  dependent  in  large  measure  upon  their  success  in  making  profits 
for  the  mill,  and  until  this  is  done  the  best  results  will  never  be  attained. 


XXIII 

REGARDING  THE  COST  OF  SAMPLE  COLLECTIONS 


A  heavy  item  of  expense  in  manufacturing,  but  which  is  frequently 
disregarded  when  figuring  on  the  cost  of  a  line  of  goods,  is  the  outlay 
for  sampling.  No  one  who  has  not  given  this  subject  close  attention 
can  begin  to  realize  what  it  means  in  dollars  and  cents  to  a  mill  making 
fancy  goods  to  any  extent. 

Qualifications  of  the  Man  in  Charge. 

In  charge  of  this  important  work  must  be  a  man  with  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  construction  of  fabrics,  so  that  any  cloths  laid  out 
can  be  relied  on  to  weave  properly  in  the  looms,  and  to  be  well- 
balanced  commercial  fabrics,  free  from  undesirable  features.  He  must 
also  be  a  man  of  great  good  taste,  and  have  an  ingenious  mind  and  an 
observing  eye.  Such  a  man,  when  one  is  so  fortunate  as  to  find  him, 
cannot  be  hired  cheap. 

Expenses  Entailed  by  Fancy  Goods. 

Under  him  may  be  one  or  more  designers  making  sketches,  or 
painting  in  the  designs,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Then,  there  are  collections  of  foreign  samples  to  be  subscribed  for 
each  season,  and  the  purchase,  from  time  to  time,  of  good  designs 
offered  for  sale  by  outside  designers. 

It  is  usually  found  expedient  to  equip  a  sample  department  in 
which  will  be  mounted  a  number  of  looms  and  some  preparatory  ma- 
chinery. There  is,  therefore,  the  space  so  occupied  to  be  charged  for, 
together  with  interest  and  depreciation  on  the  machinery  and  the  ex- 
pense attendant  on  same. 

Numerous  sample  blankets  have  then  to  be  made,  and,  later,  com- 
plete ranges  of  samples  in  the  styles  selected.  The  quantity  of  ma- 
terial so  used  up  is  extraordinary,  and  the  labor  cost  is  heavy,  cover- 


282  THE    COST    OF   SAMPLE    COLLECTIONS 

ing,  as  it  does,  wages  of  pattern  weavers,  loom  fixers,  warpers,  etc. 
The  drawing-in  and  twisting  expenses  of  the  numberless  pattern  warps 
that  are  needed  is,  in  itself,  very  large. 

Yarns  Needed  for  Sampling  Purposes. 

Small  quantities  of  all  sorts  of  yarns  have  to  be  purchased  for 
sampling  purposes,  and  in  every  fancy-goods  mill  one  will  find  no  end 
of  such  materials,  all  the  way  from  jute  to  tinsel,  in  little  lots  of  from 
one  to  ten  pounds.  Such  sample  parcels  lock  up  quite  a  lot  of  money 
and  have  but  trifling  commercial  value. 

Heavy  Cost  of  Jacquard  Work. 

For  Jacquard  work,  the  cutting  of  the  cards  is  a  great  expense, 
and  their  storage  requires  much  room.  On  this  class  of  work  there 
is  also  the  heavy  cost  incurred  in  changing  the  tie-up  of  the  looms 
from  time  to  time ;  the  repairs  and  alterations  of  the  harnesses ;  and 
the  building  of  new  harnesses,  either  to  replace  those  wearing  out, 
or  for  the  bringing  out  of  patterns  that  require  a  different  tie-up. 
The  protracted  stoppage  of  looms  for  these  necessary  purposes  adds 
considerably  to  the  cost. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  either,  that  Jacquard  warps  have  to  be 
drawn  in,  or  twisted  in,  in  the  loom,  so  that,  outside  of  the  labor  paid 
for  the  work  done,  there  is  also  to  be  reckoned  the  extra  cost  for  this 
stoppage,  which  is  much  greater  than  would  be  the  case  with  harness 
looms. 

Other  Outlays  to  be  Met. 

At  the  salesrooms,  a  considerable  yardage  is  cut  off  the  pieces  in 
stock  there,  for  use  in  making  sample  cards  and  as  types,  etc.,  and  the 
cost  of  making  up  sample  cards  is  not  small. 

If  warp  or  surface  prints  are  being  made,  there  is  also  the  en- 
graving of  the  rollers,  and  on  warp  prints  there  is  the  weaving 
in  of  the  crossings  on  the  warps  before  printing,  and  the  extra  amount 
paid  the  weaver  for  removing  same  when  the  goods  are  being  woven, 
and  many  other  expenses  incident  to  such  goods. 

Sample  pieces  of  the  various  fabrics  have  to  be  made,  and  in  the 
final  closing  out  of  such  pieces  a  smart  loss  is  generally  taken. 

When  all  these  various  items  of  expense  are  searched  out  and 
brought  together,  it  will  usually  be  found  that  they  amount  to  a  sum 
far  in  excess  of  what  any  one  dreamed  of. 

Fancy  Goods  Expenses  Should  be  Kept  Separate. 
Many  mills  make  some  plain  goods  and  some  fancies,  the  fancies 
generally  being  the  small  end.  It  is,  however,  a  very  common  prac- 
tice to  figure  the  sampling  and  special  fancy-goods  expenses  in  with 
the  general  expenses  of  the  mill,  instead  of  charging  all,  or  nearly 
all,  of  it  to  the  fancy  goods,  as  should  be  done. 


THE    COST    OF   SAMPLE    COLLECTIONS  283 

Business  on  Fancies  Often  Done  at  a  Loss. 

If  this  latter  course  were  pursued,  I  believe  that  many  concerns 
which  think  they  are  making  some  profit  on  their  fancies  would  find 
that,  if  they  took  the  sampling  cost  into  consideration,  they  are  making 
a  loss. 

It  seems  to  be  agreed  that,  if  one  is  offering  fancy  goods  for  sale, 
a  good-sized  collection  is  necessary  to  enlist  the  attention  of  the  buyer. 
If  this  is  the  case  it  is  equally  certain  that,  with  the  large  cost  of  get- 
ting up  such  a  collection,  on  any  business  of  restricted  size  there  will 
be  nothing  but  an  "Irish  dividend"  left  for  the  mill. 

Large  Initial  Profits  Necessary. 

The  application  of  all  this  is,  that  if  a  fancy-goods  business  of  con- 
siderable proportions  cannot  be  achieved  it  is  better  to  let  it  alone 
altogether;  and  in  view  of  the  losses  that  such  lines  are  subject  to 
from  cancellations,  and  from  loss  on  stock  pieces,  there  is  no  use  in 
the  ordinary  mills  pricing  such  goods  on  the  basis  of  a  small  profit. 
If  they  do  not  figure  at  the  outset  on  a  liberal  profit  they  will  find  they 
have  made  none  at  all. 


XXIV 

CHANGES  IN  MERCHANDISING  METHODS 


For  some  years  past,  profound  changes  have  been  taking  place 
in  the  methods  of  distributing  the  production  of  our  textile  mills,  and 
still  the  transition  process  continues.  These  changes  which  have  taken 
place  have  been  anything  but  beneficial  for  the  mills,  and  the  silk  trade 
has  been  one  of  the  greatest  sufferers. 

Time  was  when  the  jobbers  ordered  largely  in  advance  and  paid 
a  fair  price  for  their  goods,  but  the  great  growth  in  size  of  the  re- 
tailers, all  over  the  country,  made  them  such  large  consumers  that 
the  mills,  compelled  to  do  so  by  severe  competition,  concluded  that 
only  by  passing  by  the  jobbers,  and  offering  goods  to  the  retailers 
direct,  could  they  find  a  living  profit. 

The  jobbers  were  sometimes  protected  by  being  given  prices  enough 
below  those  quoted  to  the  retailers  to  enable  them  also  to  market  the 
good  on  the  same  basis,  but  it  was  seldom  that  the  margin  of  profit  in 
the  goods  would  allow  of  thjs,  so  that  in  large  part  they  were  unpro- 
tected. 

Present  Position  of  the  Jobber. 

Being  thus  left  out,  the  number  of  jobbers  dwindled  away,  those 
remaining  becoming,  in  large  measure,  distributers  of  job  lots  of  goods, 
very  big  lots,  at  times,  but  still  jobs. 

Sometimes  they  have  special  grades  made  for  them,  which  are  not 
offered  for  sale  elsewhere,  and  on  these  lines  they  can  do  business. 

They  also  reach  the  smaller  retailers  that  it  does  not  pay  the  mills 
to  go  after,  and  by  also  selling  cut  lengths  they  find  channels  for  dis- 
tributing substantial  quantities  of  goods. 

Selling  to  Retailers  and  Attendant  Difficulties. 
At  first,  this  selling  direct  to  retailers  seemed  easy  and  profitable, 


CHANGES   IN   MERCHANDISING   METHODS        285 

but  very  soon  the  keen  competition  among  sellers  lowered  prices  in  this 
channel  also,  to  a  level  that  left  no  more  profit  in  them  than  jobbers' 
prices  had  formerly  allowed,  and  with  this  very  serious  drawback,  that 
the  times  when  the  mills  needed  orders  for  their  looms  were  not  the 
times  when  it  suited  the  retailers  to  place  them. 

When  the  mills  protected  the  jobbers,  and  had  both  jobbing  and 
retailing  customers,  the  jobbers  would  place  orders  in  April  for  July- 
August  delivery,  and,  as  they  had  to  have  the  goods  on  their  counters 
at  the  latter  dates,  it  was  imperative  that  the  orders  be  placed  in  time 
to  allow  of  their  being  made,  and  as  goods  for  the  retailers  would 
be  running  off  the  looms  about  April  the  jobbing  orders  came  in  just 
when  needed. 

For  the  autumn  trade,  goods  are  not  needed  on  the  counters  before 
September-October,  and,  even  if  made  on  order,  can  be  contracted  for 
in  July-August,  so  there  is  little  necessity  for  the  buyers  to  place  orders 
before  then,  with  the  result  that,  every  summer,  the  dress-silk  mills  face 
an  interregnum  of  some  three  months,  when  they  must  either  shut  down 
most  of  their  looms  or  run  wholly  or  in  great  part  for  stock. 

It  is  at  this  juncture  that  the  few  large  jobbers  in  the  field  get 
their  innings,  as  many  mills,  to  bridge  over  the  slack  period  and  avoid 
either  of  the  alternatives  mentioned,  will  take  their  orders  at  prices  not 
only  without  profit  but  frequently  at  a  material  loss,  considering  this 
less  of  an  evil  than  to  shut  down  their  machinery  and  permit  their  or- 
ganizations to  be  broken  up  and  their  help  scattered. 

Disinclination  of  Jobbers  to  Carry  Stock, 

Recently,  another  phase  of  jobbing  distribution  has  arisen,  which 
is  shown  in  a  disinclination  to  carry  any  reasonable  stock  and  in  trying 
to  throw  that  burden  on  the  manufacturers.  A  big  silk  jobbing  house 
may  send  over  several  times  in  one  day,  to  a  commission  agent,  for 
one  piece  each  time  of  black  of  a  staple  line  that  they  are  carrying. 
The  advance  orders  from  them  have  dwindled  to  miserable  proportions, 
and  many  orders  are  not  for  much  more  than  a  few  sample  pieces, 
coupled  with  requests  or  demands  for  scores  or  hundreds  of  sample 
cards,  free  of  charge.  On  these  samples  and  cards  they  do  their  busi- 
ness, and  send  in  orders  months  later  for  such  goods  as  they  have  sold, 
and  which  orders,  coming  so  late,  are  of  little  value  to  the  mills.  Thus 
does  the  jobber  play  the  game  of  "heads  I  win,  tails  you  lose,"  taking 
no  chances  himself  and  letting  the  mills  sweat. 

This  practice  is  not  confined  to  silk  departments,  but  is  general  in 
other  textiles,  and  houses  that  formerly  bought  hundreds,  or  thousands, 
of  pieces  of  a  style  are  now,  in  many  instances,  buying  just  a  few  yards 
to  make  sample  cards  with.  To  such  an  extent  has  this  proceeded 
that  a  number  of  the  largest  and  most  important  mill  agents,  in  dress 
goods,  cottons,  etc.,  are  seriously  considering  the  discontinuance  of  any 


286        CHANGES   IN   MERCHANDISING    METHODS 

protection  to  the  jobber,  and  of  putting  him  on  exactly  the  same  price 
level  as  the  retailer. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  a  continuance  or  extension  of  such  policies 
on  the  part  of  jobbing  interests  will  be  prejudicial  to  their  wellbeing, 
for  if  they  cease  to  be  either  useful,  convenient,  or  profitable  channels 
for  mills  to  distribute  goods  through,  just  so  surely  will  they  be  done 
without. 

The  Cutter-up  and  His  Methods. 

The  cutter-up  is  another  party  who  has  long  operated  on  the  manu- 
facturer's capital,  and  who  takes  few  chances  himself.  He  does  not 
need  goods  to  cut  up  for  his  spring  trade  until  January,  and  for  his 
autumn  business  in  July,  and  in  October  and  March  he  buys  his  sample 
pieces,  that  is,  he  orders  only  samples  at  a  time  when  he  should  be 
placing  his  real  business,  and  these  sample  pieces  are  for  delivery  as 
soon  as  possible. 

Of  course,  he  picks  a  few  styles  from  this  house,  and  a  few  from 
that,  and  in  each  case  he  is  likely  to  make  a  point  of  speaking  enthusi- 
astically of  their  goods,  and  of  the  quantity  that  he  expects  to  use. 
Naturally,  it  is  a  fair  inference  that  he  thinks  well  of  the  styles,  or 
he  would  not  have  ordered  them,  but  his  principal  aim  is  to  encourage 
the  manufacturer  to  make  up  advance  stock  at  his  own  risk,  so  that 
he,  the  cutter,  can  have  ample  stock  to  draw  from  if  he  should  sell 
the  styles,  and,  if  not,  it  is  the  maker  who  will  stand  the  loss  on  the 
unsalable  stock. 

After  the  sample  pieces  are  ordered,  the  mills,  having  no  business  of 
any  amount  booked,  must  either  stop  or  run  on  stock.  Being  all  pretty 
"easy  marks,"  they  play  the  cutter's  game  by  banking  up  goods  at  their 
own  cost  and  risk,  to  use  as  a  stock  for  him  to  select  from — or  to  reject. 
They  are  guided  as  to  the  styles  and  quantities  to  make  by  the  number 
and  kind  of  sample  pieces  that  have  been  placed,  and  soon  the  looms 
are  turning  off  goods  in  quantity,  and  at  prices  leaving  next  to  no 
profit,  even  if  sold. 

Meantime,  nothing  has  been  heard  from  the  cutters,  who  have  made 
their  sample  garments  and  have  sent  out  their  men  on  the  road.  About 
the  beginning  of  January,  or  July,  in  come  the  cutters  and  want  so 
many  pieces  of  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing  for  immediate  delivery, 
and  if  the  manufacturer  has  not  the  stock  on  hand  they  profess  great 
indignation.  They  will  refer  to  what  they  told  him  as  to  their  probable 
requirements,  to  the  fact  that  they  bought  sample  pieces  of  the  goods, 
and  will  ask  what  kind  of  a  way  that  is  to  handle  their  trade,  and  in 
general  will  behave  like  very  ill-used  men,  when  really  what  they 
deserve  is  two  swift  kicks  properly  placed. 

Losses  Attendant  Upon  Business  With  Cutters. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  the  manufacturer  presses  upon  their  atten- 
tion any  styles  that  he  has  made  in  anticipation  of  their  wants,  but 


CHANGES   IN   MERCHANDISING    METHODS        287 

which  they  do  not  happen  to  have  done  business  on,  they  will  not  take 
them  at  any  price,  for  their  ill-success  with  them  on  the  road  has 
demonstrated  to  them  that  they  will  not  sell. 

Thus,  in  addition  to  stocking  up  goods  for  these  gentry,  with  all 
the  cost  and  drawbacks  entailed  thereby,  the  manufacturers  suffer  most 
cruel  losses  in  the  final  marketing  of  their  unsalable  lines,  owing  to  their 
rejection  by  the  special  trade  for  which  they  were  made,  and  their 
unsuitability  in  other  directions. 

In  consequence,  this  is  a  most  treacherous  trade,  and,  owing  to 
the  unresisting  characteristics  of  the  selling  agents  of  the  mills,  it  is 
enabled  to  do  business  largely  on  their  capital  and  to  shift  the  risk 
of  mistakes  of  judgment  onto  their  shoulders.  If  the  attendant  losses 
had  to  be  paid  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  selling  agents  and  salesmen, 
it  is  no  guesswork  to  say  that  this  business  would  be  conducted  on 
very  different  principles. 

The  Retailers'  Ideas  of  Profits. 

Then,  there  are  the  retailers,  those  distributers  who  can  say  blandly 
to  the  producers  that  they  will  handle  nothing  that  will  not  show  them 
about  40  per  cent,  profit,  and  that  they  must  have  this  or  that  to  retail 
at  such  and  such  a  price.  Their  organizations  are  thoroughly  perfected 
mediums  for  the  purpose  of  squeezing  the  last  fraction  of  a  cent  from 
the  producer,  and  of  getting  from  the  consumers  prices  that  occasion 
enquiries  into  the  high  cost  of  living.  Here  are  the  swollen  profits. 
Compare  the  weaver,  hardly  making  interest  on  his  capital,  or  the 
jobber  with  his  10  or  15  per  cent,  profit,  with  the  30,  40,  or  50  per 
cent,  gross  profit  regularly  taken  in  by  the  retailer. 

Poorer  Goods  at  Higher  Prices. 

Year  by  year,  greater  retail  profits  are  looked  for.  Let  anyone 
who  recollects  the  quality  of  the  iQ-inch  taffetas  that  were  regularly 
retailed  at  75  cents  a  few  years  ago,  observe  the  quality  of  the  mer- 
chandise which  is  now  handed  over  the  counter  at  that  figure,  and 
by  the  best  houses.  It  is  very  inferior,  and  yet  silks,  at  first  hands, 
have  long  ruled  at  lower  levels  than  they  did  then. 

This  charging  of  higher  prices,  and  giving  poorer  goods,  has  an 
effect  seriously  detrimental  to  the  trade  as  a  whole,  as  it  not  only 
tends  to  diminish  the  consumption  but  makes  customers  dissatisfied 
with  what  they  do  buy. 

Restrictions  Placed  Upon  Retail  Buyers. 

The  retail  buyers  are  held  strictly  down  to  certain  limits  of  capital 
by  their  principals,  and  even  with  a  growth  in  business  they  find  it  hard 
to  get  permission  to  use  more  money.  Meantime,  however,  the  increas- 
ing diversity  of  the  stock  that  has  to  be  carried  becomes  a  grave 
problem.  Fashion  papers  reach  every  corner  of  the  land,  and  requests 


288        CHANGES  IN   MERCHANDISING   METHODS 

for  new  fabrics,  styles,  and  colors  are  made  at  local  counters  of  remote 
towns,  almost  before  the  goods  have  been  shown  in  New  York. 

Makers  of  advertised  and  branded  goods  also  push  their  wares 
far  afield,  and  create  a  widespread  demand  for  their  specialties. 

The  result  is,  that  the  retail  buyer  must  carry  many  more  styles 
and  colors,  and  as  his  working  capital  remains  the  same  he  must  spread 
his  stock  thinner,  first  limiting  himself  to  a  piece  of  a  color,  and  then 
to  half  a  piece  of  a  color,  with  perhaps  full  pieces  of  black  and  white. 
Before  long,  perhaps,  we  may  see  only  dress  patterns  put  in  stock. 

The  stocking  of  goods  in  such  diminutive  quantities  makes  it  im- 
perative that,  somewhere  in  the  market,  there  must  exist  stocks  which 
can  be  drawn  on  instanter.  If  the  purchasing  were  entirely  from 
jobbers  this  might  be  all  right,  but  as  they  go  direct  to  the  mills  for 
their  supplies  it  follows  that  not  only  are  they  not  in  a  position  to 
give  advance  orders,  but  they  expect  the  mills  to  carry  stock  for  them 
also. 

The  Merchandise  Man. 

The  much  decried  merchandise  man,  inimical  as  his  office  is  to 
proper  merchandising  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  has  done  his  part 
in  bringing  about  the  present  state  of  affairs,  with  which  his  employers 
have  no  reason  to  complain,  no  matter  how  disastrous  it  has  been  to  the 
manufacturers.  These  latter  may  talk  till  they  are  black  in  the  face, 
but  till  they  do  something  the  merchandise  man  will  keep  his  extin- 
guisher over  them. 

Illustrations  of  How  Manufacturers  are  Expected  to  Carry  Stock. 

To  show  how  the  carrying  of  stocks  is  everywhere  shouldered  off 
upon  the  mills,  I  quote  these  items  from  the  New  York  Journal  of 
Commerce,  of  November  14,  1911:  "The  cool  weather  lent  a  snap  to 
trade  in  retail  channels,  and  in  different  quarters  of  the  market  there 
was  a  hurried  looking  around  for  any  available  lots  of  spot  merchandise 
in  heavy  weights."  "The  cold  wave  which  arrived  yesterday  caused 
clothiers  who  are  short  of  overcoatings  to  scurry  around  the  market  for 
additional  supplies"  "In  the  underwear  houses  where  heavy  weights 
are  handled  buyers  ivere  on  the  ground  early  to  renew  offers  for  any 
quick  shipment  garments  that  were  available." 

Here  we  see  concerns  leaving  themselves  almost  bare  of  seasonable 
heavy  weights  up  to  the  middle  of  November,  and  then,  when  a  cold 
day  comes,  having  to  rush  round  to  find  some  goods  to  sell. 

Risks  and  Expenses  Unloaded  Upon  the  Mills. 
We  now  perceive  that  we  have  arrived  at  a  point  where  the  mills 
receive  no  advance  orders  worth  mentioning  from  either  jobbers,  cut- 
ters, or  retailers,  but  are  expected  to  carry  stock  for  all  of  them,  stock 
paid  for  by  money  borrowed  from  commission  houses  at  full  rates  of 
interest,  and  financed  also  by  unduly  long  raw-silk  credits. 


CHANGES   IN   MERCHANDISING    METHODS        289 

The  carrying  of  stock  not  only  locks  up  capital,  eats  up  interest, 
and  other  carrying  expenses,  but  styles  and  colors  quickly  become 
passe,  and,  if  carried  long,  weighted  silks  may  diminish  in  strength. 

Then  who  is  to  say  what  should  be  made  amongst  the  multiplicity 
of  styles,  fabrics,  and  colors?  Let  a  mill  make  four  lines  of  goods 
that  are  wanted,  to  one  that  is  not,  and  the  loss  on  the  latter  will  usually 
exceed  the  profit  on  all  the  former,  a  fact  that  would  stand  out  more 
boldly  if  every  house  made  a  semi-annual  clean  up,  either  by  auction 
or  private  sale,  thus  knowing  exactly  where  it  stood. 

Most  sales  managers  refer  to  plain  weaves,  made  for  stock,  as 
"staple  goods,"  or  "bread-and-butter  stuff,"  but  the  fact  is  that  just 
as  heavy  losses  can  be  made,  and  often  are  made,  on  the  so-called  staple 
goods  as  are  made  in  the  closing  out  of  most  fancies. 

Necessary  Profits  are  Not  Got. 

It  should  be  apparent  that,  if  the  mills  are  distributing  goods  in 
diminutive  quantities,  with  all  the  attendant  expense,  and  are  making 
and  carrying  stock  with  the  fearful  risk  attached,  and  in  general  are 
performing  the  entire  function  of  jobbers,  they  should  receive  a  job- 
ber's profit,  in  addition  to  a  mill  profit,  to  compensate  them  for  what 
they  have  to  do,  and  to  offset  the  heavy  losses  necessarily  entailed. 

Unfortunately  they  do  not,  partly  because  they  do  not  ask  it,  and 
partly  because  many  competing  producers  figure  the  profit  considered 
necessary  on  the  same  basis  they  did  when  conditions  were  essentially 
different. 

If,  to-day,  a  mill  decides  only  to  run  on  orders,  it  will  run  very 
few  looms  as  it  will  not  get  the  orders,  and  then,  when  the  spot 
business  comes,  it  will  have  no  goods  to  sell,  and  if  it  runs  on  stock 
it  can  get  no  profit  sufficient  to  offset  the  certain  losses. 

Curtailment  of  Mill  Credits. 

Apart  from  any  under-consumption,  due  to  restricted  dress  require- 
ments, we  normally  have  a  chronic  over-production,  largely  caused  by 
the  too  great  financing  facilities  offered  by  commission  houses,  and  the 
too  long  credits  on  which  raw-silk  is  sold.  If  mill  credits  could  be 
curtailed  in  these  directions,  it  would  force  many  manufacturers  to  take 
a  stand  for  such  proper  business  methods  as  would  prevent  the  buying 
element  from  constantly  dominating  and  trampling  upon  the  producers 
as  they  now  do. 

The  Future  Outlook  and  the  Present -Conditions. 
Should  these  conditions  continue  unchecked,  what  is  there  to  look 
forward  to?  Nothing  but  the  retirement  from  the  business  of  certain 
firms,  the  failure  of  others,  and  the  dividing  the  business  (but  on  the 
same  abnormal  basis)  among  the  rest,  and,  after  a  new  crop  of  manu- 
facturers grows  up,  a  repetition  of  the  process.  Either  that  or  the 


29o        CHANGES   IN   MERCHANDISING    METHODS 

prompt  advancing  of  prices  to  levels  far  beyond  the  wildest  dreams 
of  what  any  experienced  person  now  considers  possible. 

Consider  what  the  silk  industry  of  America  represents,  with  its 
enormous  investments,  its  immense  and  costly  mechanical  equipment, 
and  the  great  technical  skill  and  knowledge  required  by  its  personnel. 
How  is  it  that  this  great  industry  has  been  allowed  to  sink  down  into 
this  chronic  miserable  state,  making  it,  and  its  members,  a  joke  and  a 
laughing  stock  among  men  engaged  in  other  businesses? 

The  Causes  of  Inaction. 

Are  there  not  trade  associations  in  the  industry,  long  established, 
and  men  of  sense  and  experience  at  the  head  of  the  different  mills, 
yet  why  is  it  that  the  collective  and  individual  intelligences  of  the 
trade  have  allowed  their  interests  to  be  sacrificed  and  the  condition 
of  their  businesses  brought  to  such  an  evil  pass,  and  with  no  prospect 
of  relief? 

It  looks  as  if  it  were  caused  by  indifference,  laziness,  timidity,  and 
fear.  Indifference  to  the  evil  that  may  be  befalling  a  competitor ;  lazi- 
ness that  deters  some  from  moving  in  any  matter  not  obligatory  upon 
them;  timidity  on  the  part  of  others  in  asserting  their  rights;  and 
fear,  of  one  sort  or  another,  on  the  part  of  nearly  all. 

When  situations  arise  requiring  concerted  and  effective  action,  some 
are  afraid  that  it  will  cost  them  a  little  money,  and  that  their  pocket- 
book-nerve  will  be  affected ;  others  are  afraid  'of  coming  into  the  open 
for  fear  they  may  not  be  thought  "conservative,"  that  fetish  which 
appeals  to  timid  souls ;  others  are  afraid  to  trust,  within  reason,  their 
associates,  thinking  they  may  prove  false;  and  others  are  fearful  of 
antagonizing  customers,  creditors,  or  what  not.  Therefore,  we  have 
had  a  condition  of  drift  and  inaction,  and  are  now  paying  the  penalty. 

Necessity  of  Leadership. 

There  are  times  when  situations  require  drastic  remedies,  and  real 
war  should  be  made  upon  the  causes  responsible  for  these  intolerable 
conditions,  no  matter  whose  interests  may  have  to  be  attacked.  "Ome- 
lettes cannot  be  made  without  breaking  some  eggs." 

At  such  times  it  behooves  those  who  are  leaders  to  justify  their 
claims  to  leadership  by  leading.  Who  are  the  leaders  of  the  silk  in- 
dustry? Where  are  they?  If  any  there  be,  let  them  lead,  and  they 
will  find  more  followers  than  they  dream  of,  and  success  will  attend 
upon  their  efforts. 


XXV 

SPECIALIZATION  IN  PRODUCTION 


One  of  the  most  troublesome  and  important  questions  that  con- 
fronts the  management  of  a  mill  is  what  to  make,  and  a  question  of 
even  greater  importance,  and  one  that  very  often  receives  little  intelli- 
gent consideration,  is  what  not  to  make. 

The  projectors  of  a  mill,  when  starting  it,  usually  have  in  mind 
the  intention  to  cater  to  a  certain  trade,  and  they  begin  work  along 
those  lines,  but,  unless  business  comes  to  them  very  readily,  it  is  not 
long  before  they  are  sampling  in  all  sorts  of  directions. 

Necessity  of  a  Definite  Policy. 

The  selection  of  a  definite  policy  in  this  respect  is  a  necessity,  and 
then,  after  the  most  careful  and  sober  consideration  of  every  phase  of 
the  subject  and  the  final  determining  upon  a  line  of  action,  this  policy 
should  be  steadily  pursued  to  the  end,  and  no  ephemeral  fashion  or 
condition  of  business  should  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  it  till  it  either 
be  carried  to  success  or  be  proved  to  be  unprofitable. 

Questions  Which  Will  Influence  the  Decision. 

What,  then,  are  the  factors  which  will  influence  the  decision  as  to 
what  policy  to  adopt,  and  what  are  the  policies  that  are  generally 
available  ? 

Some  of  the  dominating  features  in  the  case  will  be  the  number  of 
looms  operated  by  the  mill ;  the  location  of  the  plant,  which  has  much 
to  do  with  whether  skilled  labor  will  be  available  or  not;  the  amount 
of  experience  possessed  by  the  mill  superintendent  in  the  construction 
of  various  classes  of  goods ;  the  standing  of  the  sales  department  with 
the  buyers  and  the  ability  of  the  selling  staff  to  reach  the  desired  trade ; 
the  degree  of  taste  and  the  knowledge  of  fabrics  possessed  by  the 
sales  management ;  the  fabric  requirements  of  the  day ;  and  the  finan- 


292  SPECIALIZATION  IN  PRODUCTION 

cial  resources  of  the  concern  which  may  control  its  action  in  certain 
cases. 

The  Frittering  Away  of  Energies. 

Some  will  start  out  on  the  assumption  that  they  can  easily  sell  up 
their  mills  by  making  a  little  of  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing. 

This  is  a  fatal  mistake,  particularly  in  an  age  of  specialization 
such  as  this  is,  when  so  many  lines  of  goods,  manufactured  on  a  large 
scale,  are  sold  on  a  basis  of  profit  not  much  better  than  a  brokerage. 
With  a  too  greatly  diversified  product,  costs  will  be  so  high  that 
profits  will  be  rare,  assortments  of  colors  and  patterns  cannot  be  com- 
pleted on  time,  the  selling  expense  will  be  absurdly  large,  the  produc- 
tion of  the  mill  will  be  far  short  of  what  it  should  be,  the  concern 
will  not  be  headquarters  for  anything,  and  its  goods  will  be  held  in 
small  esteem  by  the  trade,  if  not  totally  neglected. 

The  result  will  be  accumulations  of  odds  and  ends  of  stock,  from 
sample  pieces  to  cancelled  orders,  a  heavy  loss  in  the  closing  out  of 
these  broken  lots  of  goods,  a  frittering  away  of  energies,  and  a  shrink- 
age of  capital.  In  such  cases,  the  tail  will  always  eat  the  head  off 
the  dog,  as  the  saying  is. 

Those  Who  Copy  Instead  of  Originating. 

Some  others  will  argue  that  the  proper  plan  to  get  quickly  into 
the  swim  is  to  go  out  and  see  what  fabrics  others  are  doing  well  on 
and  then  copy  them,  cheapening  them  if  possible,  and  in  this  way 
find  a  quick  sale  for  their  goods. 

It  is  but  fair  to  state  that,  of  the  many  houses  which  pursue  this 
questionable  policy  as  a  regular  practice,  some  have  been  successful, 
owing  generally  to  their  technical  ability  in  copying  goods  and  repro- 
ducing the  desired  effects  on  a  much  cheaper  scale ;  but,  had  they  used 
their  unquestioned  talent  and  spent  an  equal  effort  in  originating  styles 
and  fabrics,  they  might  have  reaped  a  still  larger  reward. 

The  copyists,  however,  are  nearly  always  tail-enders,  for,  to  get 
the  business  away  from  those  who  have  it,  one  has  to  offer  apparently 
the  same  goods  at  lower  prices,  or  give  better  values  for  the  same 
money,  and  the  joint  competition  of  the  throng  of  copyists  often  pre- 
vents any  of  them  from  making  a  cent,  and  simply  spoils  the  market 
for  those  whose  intelligent  foresight  entitles  them  to  the  business  that 
their  efforts  have  created. 

Delusions  of  Salesmen. 

Salesmen  are  always  speaking  of  the  "land-office  business"  that  this 
or  that  firm  is  doing  on  certain  goods,  and  the  huge  profits  they  are 
making,  and  are  urging  their  mills  to  copy  the  cloth,  and,  of  course, 
at  a  lower  price  if  possible.  Distant  fields  are  always  green,  and  it 
generally  happens  that  neither  the  business  nor  the  profits  are  any- 
thing unusual,  and,  anyway,  if  there  was  any  special  profit  in  the  goods, 
the  original  producer  would  not  allow  his  business  to  be  taken  from 


SPECIALIZATION  IN  PRODUCTION  293 

him  and  would  cut  his  prices  in  turn,  so  that  the  purchasers'  confidence 
in  the  goods  would  be  demoralized  by  the  breaking  prices  and  nothing 
but  harm  and  loss  would  result. 

The  truth  is,  that,  having  ta  find  our  business  exclusively  within 
the  boundaries  of  this  country  alone,  we  are  all  in  the  same  boat,  and 
if  the  business  that  one  man  is  doing  is  cut  in  upon,  he  must  take  some 
business  away  from  some  one  else  in  another  direction  in  order  to 
employ  his  looms. 

The  originator  always  has  the  best  of  it,  for  he  gets  a  reputation 
for  having  new  things  and  can  get  a  profit  on  what  he  sells,  as  he 
has  then  but  little  competition. 

When  to  Stop  Making  Goods. 

While  it  is  very  important  to  get  onto  the  right  goods  early,  it  is 
equally  important  to  get  off  them  in  ample  season.  It  is  frequently, 
and  perhaps  usually,  true  that  the  time  to  stop  taking  orders  on  a  line, 
and  to  begin  to  take  serious  steps  to  close  out  every  piece  made  or 
making,  is  when  the  demand  for  the  goods  is  at  a  white  heat,  particu- 
larly if  the  goods  in  any  way  come  into  the  fancy  category. 

When  sales  are  in  full  swing,  this  cleaning-up  process  can  be  ac- 
complished with  little  or  no  loss,  and  a  handsome  net  profit  will  be 
the  result  of  the  business  already  done,  whereas,  if  the  demand  should 
fall  off  (and  it  can  change  completely  over  night),  the  cleaning-up 
process  may  be  attended  with  such  heavy  losses  that  there  may  be  no 
profit  left  in  spite  of  all  the  work  done.  The  loss  on  one  piece,  sold 
on  a  closing-out  basis,  will  generally  wipe  out  the  profit  of  five  to 
ten  pieces  sold  at  the  regular  price. 

Specialising  Along  Narrow  Lines. 

Specialization  is  the  order  of  the  day,  and  the  best  success  is  most 
likely  to  be  attained  by  concentrating  activities  along  the  narrowest 
possible  lines,  and  then  pushing  the  production  and  sale  of  those  spe- 
cialties to  the  limit. 

The  manner  in  which  too  diverse  a  product,  in  a  mill  of  ordinary 
size,  will  waste  the  money  and  paralyze  the  energies  of  the  concern  is 
appalling. 

The  complications  that  a  call  for  the  manufacture  of  too  many 
different  things  will  make  are  legion.  It  may  entail  the  use  of  Jacquard 
machines  of  varying  scope,  and  with  all  sorts  of  different  tie-ups  for 
their  harnesses ;  fancy  shaft  harnesses,  cumbrous  and  costly,  and  with 
all  sorts  of  spacings;  plain  harnesses  of  all  kinds  and  widths,  French, 
English,  etc. ;  different  constructions  of  cloths ;  a  wide  variety  of  all 
the  materials  under  heaven;  different  twists  to  the  yarns;  different 
widths ;  different  classes  of  colors ;  different  weightings ;  different  sizes 
of  silks ;  untold  quantities  of  designs ;  various  finishes ;  samples  for 
different  classes  of  goods  wanted  at  all  sorts  of  times,  and  samplings 


294  SPECIALIZATION  IN  PRODUCTION 

much  increased ;  different  construction  requirements  to  be  met,  accord- 
ing to  the  uses  of  the  fabrics ;  different  selling  conditions,  etc.,  etc. 

A  very  great  mill,  with  an  established  connection,  can  permit  these 
complications,  for  it  has  so  much  machinery  that  in  each  of  many  di- 
verse directions  it  is  able  to  operate  enough  looms  to  make  a  respect- 
able business  of  it  and  to  have  special  salesmen  for  each  branch  of  the 
work.  With  small  or  moderate-sized  mills  the  case  is  essentially 
different. 

Policies  of  Production. 

Leaving  aside  these  examples  of  opportunism  that  we  have  been 
discussing,  what  directions  are  there  in  which  a  broad  silk  mill  can 
work  which  could  be  properly  designated  as  policies? 

In  answer  to  this  it  may  be  suggested  that  a  mill  may  specialize 
on  one  or  more  staple  fabrics  or  on  one  division  of  staple  fabrics,  such 
as  blacks,  or  exclusively  cater  to  one  trade,  such  as  making  plain  or 
fancy  dress  silks,  necktie  silks,  etc.,  or  it  can  exploit  one  or  more  trade- 
marked  fabrics,  either  as  an  exclusive  business,  or  in  connection  with 
other  goods. 

A  mill  desiring  to  specialize  on  a  staple  cloth  has  many  to  choose 
from.  It  may  make  umbrella  silks,  chiffons,  crepes  de  chine,  Shantungs, 
foulards,  taffetas,  cotton-back  satins,  liberty  satins,  wash  silks,  lining 
silks,  tailoring  silks,  etc.,  etc. 

If  the  mill  manager  knows  his  business,  and  if  the  sales  department 
can  market  the  product  at  the  full  market  price,  a  mill,  employing,  say, 
two  hundred  looms  steadily  on  one  of  these  fabrics,  ought  to  do  very 
well  during  most  seasons,  as  the  unit  cost  of  both  production  and  dis- 
tribution should  be  so  low  that  at  any  fair  market  price  there  should 
be  a  reasonable  profit  in  them. 

Add  to  this  the  fact  that  the  output  in  yards  would  be  so  re- 
spectable that  the  mill  would  have  some  standing  in  the  market  as  a 
producer  of  that  article,  and  buyers  would  then  make  it  a  point  to  look 
at  its  goods  when  in  the  market.  Again,  a  mill  may  specialize  in  the 
same  way  on  blacks — nothing  but  blacks — be  they  satin,  taffeta,  peau 
de  soie  or  what  not. 

In  this,  as  in  the  previous  case,  great  economies  of  production  re- 
sult from  the  simplification  of  the  work,  as  but  few  kinds  and  sizes 
of  silk  or  other  materials  are  used,  few  different  sorts  of  weightings, 
a  uniform  kind  of  machinery,  and  a  minimum  of  superintendence  and 
other  labor. 

A  concern  may  also  cater  to  one  trade  exclusively,  and  may  make, 
say,  plain  dress  silks,  covering  only  the  ordinary  weaves,  widths,  and 
colors ;  and  this  may  be  further  specialized  on  as  by  working  only  for 
the  jobbing  trade,  or  the  retailers,  or  the  cutting-up  trade. 

Without  going  too  deeply  into  novelties  there  may  be  a  field  in 
the  fancy  goods  trade,  checks,  stripes,  plaids,  print  warps,  printed 
foulards,  figured  satins,  etc.,  etc.  These  articles  are  naturally  much 


SPECIALIZATION  IN  PRODUCTION  295 

more  hazardous  than  plain  goods  and  persons  undertaking  this  trade 
must  be  very  well  qualified  for  it  at  every  end  of  the  business. 

In  each  of  these  lines,  some  of  the  goods  may  be  skein-dyed  and 
some  piece-dyed.  In  the  piece-dyed  branch,  also,  is  another  field  for 
specialization. 

Some  Considerations  Affecting  Piece  Dyes. 

Its  advantages  are  a  simplification  of  the  kinds  of  raw  material 
used ;  the  elimination,  in  large  part,  of  the  paying  out  of  much  money 
for  throwing  or  dyeing  in  advance  of  the  production  of  the  goods ;  the 
quick  conversion  of  raw  materials  into  finished  goods;  the  relatively 
low  cost  of  piece-dyed  goods  and  their  consequent  larger  sale ;  and  the 
fact  that  they  can  be  dyed  up  as  needed  into  the  colors  most  in  demand 
at  the  time. 

There  are  times  in  the  year,  of  course,  when  these  piece-dyes  may 
have  to  be  stocked  heavily,  entailing  the  locking  up  of  much  capital, 
with  interest  charges,  and,  even  when  made  on  advance  orders,  buyers 
are  unwilling  to  give  dye  orders  until  close  to  the  time  when  they  will 
require  the  delivery  of  the  goods.  There  is  then  difficulty  in  getting 
large  quantities  of  goods  through  the  dye-house  in  reasonable  time,  and, 
with  the  rush  of  orders  that  the  dyer  has  to  contend  with,  much  un- 
satisfactory work  is  produced. 

It  may  also  happen,  owing  to  some  oversight  or  bad  work  at  the 
mill,  or  some  unsuitable  lot  of  material  getting  into  use,  that,  when  the 
accumulations  of  goods  that  have  been  stacked  up  begin  to  come 
through  the  dyeing,  serious  unsuspected  imperfections  and  damages 
may  appear,  and  which,  owing  to  the  large  number  of  pieces  in  which 
they  may  occur,  will  entail  heavy  losses. 

It  is  the  part  of  prudence,  therefore,  to  keep  dyeing  up,  right 
along,  representative  pieces  of  the  lots  coming  through,  so  that  if  any- 
thing about  the  goods  is  wrong  it  may  be  discovered  and  checked  before 
it  has  reached  large  proportions. 

The  Production  of  High  Novelties. 

Another  direction  in  which  a  mill  may  work  is  in  the  manufactur- 
ing of  high  novelties. 

This  branch  of  the  business  cannot  be  got  into  over  night,  for,  to  be 
really  successful  at  it,  a  mill  must  build  up  its  reputation  gradually  and 
over  quite  a  period.  During  that  time  the  trade  has  become  ac- 
customed to  look  to  it  for  novelties,  and  to  expect  that  such  ideas  as  it 
brings  out  will  be  good  and  profitable  things  for  them  to  handle. 

This  prestige  is  hard  to  acquire,  but  when  once  gained  it  is  a  great 
help  to  the  mill  in  placing  its  product,  season  after  season,  as  con- 
fidence plays  a  large  part  in  transactions  in  novelties,  and  the  mere  fact 
of  a  successful  fancy-goods  house  presenting  its  styles  is  an  argument 
with  the  buyer  in  favor  of  purchasing  them. 

To  do  this  business  well  requires  qualities  of  no  common  order,  and 


296  SPECIALIZATION  IN  PRODUCTION 

very  serious  risks  have  also  to  be  faced,  for  the  price  that  fancies  will 
bring  when  they  are  not  wanted  bears  little  relation  to  their  cost. 

The  management,  both  at  the  store  and  at  the  mill,  should  have 
originality  of  ideas,  educated  taste,  and  much  ingenuity  in  the  con- 
struction of  fabrics  and  employment  of  materials. 

Their  sources  of  information  as  to  the  drift  of  taste  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  as  to  what  is  new  in  styles,  colors,  cloths  and  fashions, 
should  be  many  and  accurate. 

It  is  necessary  to  sample  very  far  ahead  and  on  a  wide  scale,  and, 
to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  to  gamble  on  the  market  and  to  have  on 
hand  assortments  of  novelties  at  the  time  they  are  needed  by  the  trade. 

If  the  firm  understands  its  business  and  attends  to  it  keenly  and 
closely,  a  fine  and  profitable  trade  may  be  built  up,  but  very  few  peo- 
ple, even  with  the  best  equipped  plants,  have  the  talent  necessary  to 
do  it. 

Losses  Entailed  by  Fancy  Goods. 

While  the  nominal  profits  in  fancies  look  large,  it  is  very  seldom 
that  they  really  are  so,  for  the  drawbacks  are  so  many  that,  unless  a 
large  margin  of  nominal  profit  was  figured  on,  there  would  be  no  real 
profit  at  all. 

The  cost  of  sampling,  with  all  the  collateral  outlay  that  it  entails, 
directly  and  indirectly,  is  a  colossal  expense;  many  goods  are  sure  to 
be  late  and  subject  to  cancellation,  so  what  with  returned  goods,  left 
over  goods,  and  seconds,  there  is  always  a  very  large  percentage  of 
stuff  to  close  out  at  a  heavy  loss ;  the  production  of  the  mill  is  greatly 
cut  down  by  the  everlasting  changes  necessitated  by  the  rapidly  passing 
fashions,  and  then  there  is  the  chance  that  in  making  goods  ahead  trie 
demand  may  be  misjudged — and  this  happens  not  infrequently — and 
there  may  in  that  case  be  a  big  line  of  goods  to  throw  overboard  at  the 
best  price  obtainable. 

Creating  a  Demand  by  Advertising. 

Another  policy,  coming  more  and  more  into  vogue,  is  to  make  one 
or  more  sound,  serviceable  fabrics,  of  a  kind  that  should  have  a  wide 
and  general  use,  and  create  a  demand  for  them  by  advertising. 

Unless  advertised,  even  a  trade  marked  fabric  comes  very  slowly 
into  use,  and  the  question  is  not  whether  to  advertise  the  cloth,  but 
how  to  do  it,  and  how  much  money  to  spend  on  it. 

If  not  advertised,  the  most  meritorious  goods  will  rarely  see  the 
retail  counter,  for  what  the  distributers  want  are  low  prices,  and  low 
prices  are  not  often  commensurate  with  good  merchandise. 

The  distributer  has  really  grown  to  be  a  barrier  between  the  manu- 
facturer who  desires  to  make  honest  goods  and  the  customer  who 
wishes  to  buy  them,  and  the  manufacturer  is  thus  compelled  to  go  over 
the  head  of  the  retailer,  appeal  by  advertisement  to  the  consumer,  and 
so  create  such  a  demand  for  the  goods  that  the  retailers  will  find  it 


SPECIALIZATION  IN  PRODUCTION  297 

both  necessary  to  carry  them  in  stock  and  to  pay  the  manufacturer  a 
fair  price  for  them. 

When  advertising  has  to  be  done,  it  is  a  great  problem  how  to 
properly  spend  the  necessary  money,  for  in  no  direction  can  money  be 
so  absolutely  thrown  away  as  in  this,  if  not  intelligently  expended. 

Protecting  One's  Trade  Marks. 

After  an  advertised  cloth  has  come  into  prominence,  it  will  not 
only  be  widely  copied,  but  its  trade  mark  is  sure  to  be  pirated,  and 
the  manufacturer  must  be  prepared  to  begin  legal  proceedings  against 
all  infringers,  big  or  little,  far  or  near,  and  so  compel  the  trade  to  re- 
spect the  brands  that  so  much  money  and  effort  have  been  spent  in 
developing. 

This  is  not  so  expensive  a  process  as  it  would  appear  to  be,  for 
merchants  do  not  like  to  have  to  defend  lawsuits,  and  when  those 
gentlemen  with  piratical  proclivities  see  that  a  house  is  determined  to 
protect  its  brands  at  any  cost,  they  let  the  marks  of  that  firm  severely 
alone. 

Good  trade-marked  fabrics,,  well  advertised  and  introduced,  will  find 
a  steady  sale  year  after  year,  and  always  at  a  profit. 

Considerations  Governing  the  Policy  to  be  Pursued. 

There  are,  no  doubt,  many  other  methods  of  directing  the  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  merchandise  that  are  both  sound  and  profit- 
able, but  the  foregoing  will  show  the  desirability  of  adopting  some  well 
settled  policy. 

What  this  policy  will  be  each  must  determine  for  himself,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  circumstances. 

Fancy  goods  production  should  not  be  undertaken  in  localities 
where  skilled  labor  is  scare,  and  where,  if  help  gets  scattered  owing  to 
slack  work,  it  is  difficult  or  next  to  impossible  to  get  them  back  again. 
Country  mills,  therefore,  should  generally  aim  to  make  plain,  or  rea- 
sonably simple  goods. 

The  number  of  looms  and  their  character  will  be  another  limiting 
feature,  as  it  is  well  to  make  what  a  mill  is  best  equipped  for,  and  the 
character  of  the  goods  that  its  selling  force  is  best  able  to  dispose  of  is 
of  much  importance.  Whatever  is  made,  there  should  be  enough  looms 
devoted  to  it  to  give  it  a  proper  standing  in  the  market,  and  to  per- 
mit the  proper  selling  staff  to  be  employed. 

The  knowledge  and  abilities  of  the  partners,  the  demands  of  the 
day,  all  will  influence  the  determination. 

Shaping  a  Course  and  Following  It. 

Even  established  concerns,  doing  a  good  and  fairly  profitable  trade, 
will  often  find  themselves  largely  in  pocket  by  a  careful  analysis  of 
every  part  of  the  business  that  they  are  doing,  and  the  rigorous  elimi- 
nation of  every  article  that  they  are  not  headquarters  on. 


298  SPECIALIZATION  IN  PRODUCTION 

Every  mill,  in  fact,  after  patient  investigation,  should  frame  a  law 
for  its  guidance  and  allow  nothing  to  deviate  it  from  that  path.  Our 
mistakes  are  generally  made  not  because  we  really  do  not  know  better, 
but  because  we  allow  ourselves  to  be  talked  into  believing  that  it  will 
be  different  this  time. 

Goods  Should  be  Sold  the  Season  Made. 

One  feature  of  any  policy  that  may  be  adopted  should  be  always 
to  sell  goods  during  the  season  for  which  they  were  made,  be  the 
price  good  or  bad.  They  rarely  will  bring  more,  and,  if  carried,  will 
usually  bring  less,  besides  locking  up  capital  and  entailing  interest 
charges. 

This  fixed  determination  to  sell  is  well  illustrated  by  the  familiar 
figure  which  is  here  reproduced,  and  regarding  which  I  quote  from 
"Dry  Goods"  as  follows: 

"Sell  and  Repent." 

One  of  the  most  familiar  trademarks  in  the  dry  goods  world  is 
the  portly  old  gentleman  whose  portrait  is  herewith  reproduced.  He 
has  a  history  handed  down  to  posterity  through  generations  of  good 
goods  and  persistent  advertising. 

His  strength  of  mind  and  body  is  typical  of  the  house  he  so  strongly 
represents. 


This  symbol  has  been  used  by  the  present  house  of  Fred.  Butter- 
field  &  Company  for  upwards  of  sixty  years.  Below  we  print  a 
reference  to  him  issued  by  the  firm  in  Bradford,  England,  May  24, 
1895: 

"In  referring  to  the  property  lying  between  Mrs.  Newby's  shop 
and  the  corner  of  Cheapside,  we  have  to  note  the  erection  of  buildings 


SPECIALIZATION  IN  PRODUCTION  299 

comparatively  modern.  Prior  to  their  erection  the  site  was  occupied 
by  private  residences  with  gardens  in  the  rear.  In  one  of  these 
lived  John  Preston,  one  of  the  first  woolstaplers  in  Bradford,  and  one 
of  the  original  shareholders  in  the  Low  Moor  Ironworks,  established 
in  1788.  In  the  early  rate-books  John  Preston  is  described  as  being 
assessed  at  £60  per  annum,  an  item  large  enough  to  clearly  establish 
his  position  as  a  leading  man  in  the  trade.  The  figure  of  the  old 
woolstapler,  attired  in  knee  breeches,  thick  hosen,  a  coat  reaching  to 
his  heels,  and  with  his  hands  deeply  thrust  into  his  plush  waistcoat 
pockets,  would  form  an  interesting  feature  could  it  be  more  vividly 
reproduced.  John,  despite  his  homely  garb,  could  hold  his  own  at  a 
bargain.  At  any  rate,  he  must  have  felt  assured  of  his  position  before 
making  use  of  his  usual  phrase,  Til  sell  if  I  repent/  " 


XXVI 

ADVERTISED  FABRICS 


The  question  of  whether  to  advertise  textile  fabrics  or  not,  and,  if 
they  are  to  be  advertised,  the  question  of  the  best  method  of  dealing 
with  this  important  problem,  is  a  matter  of  much  concern  to  many 
houses  from  time  to  time. 

The  destructive  and  unrestrained  competition  in  the  silk  trade  elimi- 
nates the  possibility  of  making  more  than  a  brokerage  on  a  vast  volume 
of  the  standard  fabrics  consumed  by  the  country,  and,  too  often,  even 
this  cannot  be  made,  and  manufacturers,  whether  they  like  it  or  not, 
are  more  and  more  being  forced  to  adopt  methods  that  will  give  their 
goods  distinctiveness  and  remove  them  from  the  influence  of  price-cut- 
ting. 

The  Demands  of  the  Distributers. 

The  necessity,  or  the  greed,  of  the  distributers  leads  them  to  de- 
mand lower  and  still  lower  prices  from  the  manufacturers  for  standard 
goods  to  retail  at  standard  prices,  and  this  even  when  goods  are  cost- 
ing more  to  make  owing  to  increased  raw  material  or  other  costs. 

The  dictum  is  calmly  laid  down  by  these  middlemen  that,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  7  per  cent,  cash  discount,  they  cannot  handle  anything  that 
does  not  show  them  a  profit  of,  say,  40  per  cent,  or  upwards. 

Manufacturers  Try  to  Do  the  Impossible. 

The  manufacturers  supinely  submit  to  this  pretension,  and  move 
heaven  and  earth  to  accomplish  the  impossible,  growing  poorer  as  their 
customers  are  growing  richer,  and,  incidentally,  being  compelled  by  the 
necessities  of  the  case  to  produce  fabrics  of  seeming  worth,  but  so 
grossly  overweighted  that  they  greatly  injure  the  esteem  of  silk  goods 
with  the  consuming  public. 

The  distributers  of  merchandise  are  a  necessary  link  in  the  chain 


ADVERTISED  FABRICS  301 

between  the  producer  and  the  consumer,  and,  as  such,  they  are  entitled 
to  a  reasonable  return  on  their  business,  but  the  intolerably  one-sided 
condition  of  affairs  that  exists  at  present  calls  for  a  fundamental 
change. 

Necessity  of  Appealing  to  the  Public  Direct. 

This  change  is  now  being  brought  about  in  part,  and  will  be  more 
and  more  as  time  goes  on,  by  the  action  of  manufacturers  in  going  over 
the  heads  of  the  distributers  and,  by  various  methods  of  advertising, 
presenting  meritorious  goods  to  the  ultimate  consumers,  and  thus,  by 
creating  a  demand  on  the  retailers  for  these  special  fabrics,  compel  the 
latter  to  buy  goods  from  the  maker  at  prices  fixed  by  him  and  not 
by  them,  and  perhaps,  to  sell  them  at  prices  fixed  by  him  also. 

Most  retailers  are  apprehensive  of  the  effect  that  the  general  hand- 
ling of  trade-marked  cloths  would  have  on  their  profits,  and  many  of 
them  are  bitterly  opposed  to  carrying  them,  but  sooner  or  later  they 
will  all  have  to  take  their  medicine  and  to  a  far  greater  extent  that 
they  now  dream  of. 

Margins  of  Profit. 

In  fixing  the  relation  between  the  wholesale  and  retail  prices  of 
their  products,  most  of  the  makers  aim  to  allow  the  dealers  a  fairly 
liberal  margin  of  profit,  for,  in  exploiting  their  brands,  they  desire  as 
little  hostility  at  the  counter  as  possible.  Later  on,  when  their  trade- 
marks have  become  household  words,  they  may  have  it  in  their  power 
to  cut  the  retailer's  profit  to  a  point  commensurate  with  the  greater  ease 
of  marketing  the  goods,  brought  about  by  the  advertising  done  by  the 
manufacturer. 

Different  Views  Regarding  Advertising. 

Great  diversity  of  opinion  has  existed  among  manufacturers  about 
this  question  of  advertising.  Some  have  thought  it  entirely  unneces- 
sary, in  fact  have  sneered  at  the  idea ;  others  have  thought  that  the 
money  thus  spent  would  so  increase  the  cost  of  the  goods  that  they 
would  be  no  better  off  even  if  they  should  create  a  market  for  them ; 
some  imagine  that  a  fortune  is  required  for  such  work,  and,  not  hav- 
ing much  money  to  spend,  they  do  nothing;  others  think  that  business 
so  reached  is,  at  the  best,  limited  in  extent  and  can  only  be  kept  up  by 
heavy  expenditures;  and  no  doubt  there  are  some  who  think  that  so 
many  are  already  in  the  field  that  they  would  be  too  late  to  accomplish 
much  even  if  they  tried. 

There  is,  however,  really  no  reason  why  the  great  bulk  of  the 
products  of  the  silk  looms  should  not  be  sold  in  this  way,  just  as  they 
are  now  sold  without  being  branded.  In  other  branches  of  trade,  all 
goods  of  decent  quality  (and  large  quantities  that  are  not),  from  hats 
to  machinery  or  from  carriages  to  stationery,  are  marked  with  the 
maker's  name,  and  the  sooner  this  comes  to  be  the  custom,  instead  of 
the  exception,  in  the  silk  business,  the  better  it  will  be  for  all  concerned. 


302  ADVERTISED  FABRICS 

Goods  Suitable  for  Trade-Marking. 

Any  decently  made  cloth,  having  a  wide,  or  a  fairly  wide,  range 
of  continuous  usefulness,  is  a  fit  subject  for  an  advertising  campaign, 
and  a  fabric  free  from  any  adulterant  is  the  most  desirable.  The  qual- 
ity must  be  sound,  and  its  merit  constantly  maintained,  and,  of  course, 
from  season  to  season,  it  may  be  brought  out  in  new  and  desirable 
colors  or  weaves. 

A  name  that  does  not  indicate  any  particular  weave  is  useful,  as  it 
can  then  be  made  to  apply  to  any  of  the  many  fabrics  that  may  be  re- 
quired over  a  period  of  years.  This  name  should  be  woven  or  stamped 
on  the  edges,  and  on  the  ends  of  the  pieces,  and  it  is  well  to  have  some 
distinctive  character  about  the  wrappers. 

Of  prime  importance  is  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  article,  that  is,  the 
price  per  yard  or  per  inch  that  the  woman  who  gets  it  has  to  pay.  Hon- 
est fabrics  cost  money  to  make,  and,  any  way,  very  low  prices  are 
neither  necessary  nor  desirable,  but  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
purchaser  shall  appreciate  that  she  has  got  full  value  for  her  money. 
Fictitious  prices  may  be  maintained  for  a  season  or  two,  but  not  in  the 
long  run. 

Textile  Advertising  Costs  Not  Paid  by  Public. 

It  is  an  error  to  say  that  the  buyers  of  advertised  goods  must  get 
less  value  for  their  money,  owing  to  the  cost  of  the  advertising  and 
branding  having  to  come  out  of  the  goods.  Supposing  that  on  a  certain 
cloth,  retailing  at  $1.00  a  yard,  2^2  cents  a  yard  had  been  spent  in 
advertising  it  and  i  cent  a  yard  in  branding  it;  now,  does  the  con- 
sumer have  to  pay  for  this?  By  no  means.  It  come  out  of  the  re- 
tailer, for  he  is  compelled  to  buy  the  cloth  at,  say,  75  cents  a  yard,  while 
otherwise  he  would  have  bought  it  at  70  cents  or  67^  cents. 

He,  however,  may  be  no  worse  off,  and  perhaps  be  better  off.  As 
the  manufacturer  is  advertising  the  goods,  the  trade  is  created  for  the 
merchant  who  otherwise  would  have  to  advertise  them  himself.  As  it 
is  the  necessary  and  proper  practice  of  makers,  in  putting  an  adver- 
tised silk  on  the  market,  to  require  all  purchasers  to  agree  not  to  break 
the  established  retail  price,  it  follows  that  the  cutting  of  prices  by  com- 
petitors at  the  end  of  the  season  is  eliminated  on  such  goods,  and  the 
merchant  is  not  compelled  to  reduce  the  prices  of  what  he  has  in  stock 
to  meet  such  cuts,  and  therefore  the  profit  already  made  on  the  goods 
is  unimpaired. 

Agreements  to  Maintain  the  Retail  Price. 

The  manufacturer  will,  of  course,  require  all  buyers  to  sign  an 
agreement  to  maintain  the  price,  and  will  compel  strict  compliance  with 
its  terms.  He  will  not  sell  to  those  who  decline  to  thus  obligate  them- 
selves, and  any  who  have  broken  their  agreements  will  be  shut  off 
from  getting  any  more  of  the  fabric,  directly  or  indirectly. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  standard    qualities    of   meritorious 


ADVERTISED  FABRICS  303 

goods  before  the  public,  with  a  living  profit  to  the  producer,  unless 
the  retail  price  is  controlled. 

This  is  because  there  are  many  unscrupulous  retailers,  who,  as 
soon  as  an  article  with  merit  is  beginning  to  have  a  wide  sale,  make  it 
their  business  to  get  together  a  lot  of  the  goods  and  make  a  big  ad- 
vertised sale  of  them  at  cost,  or  thereabouts,  to  make  the  public  believe, 
by  this  tricky  method,  that  they  can  sell  cheaper  than  their  competitors, 
and  so  attract  custom  to  themselves. 

When  this  comes  about,  other  dealers  will  refuse  to  handle  the 
goods,  as  they  will  not  wish  to  have  the  name  of  asking  higher  prices 
than  their  neighbors,  and  they  also  have  no  intention  of  handling  goods 
without  profit,  and  as  the  maker  finds  himself  without  customers  for 
the  fabric,  he  has  to  drop  it. 

Then  the  public  wonder  why  they  cannot  get  more  of  the  goods 
that  had  been  so  satisfactory. 

Prosecuting  Infringers. 

Persons  pirating  the  name,  or  infringing  on  the  trade-mark, 
whether  their  goods  be  inferior  or  superior,  should  be  promptly  prose- 
cuted, no  matter  in  what  part  of  the  country  they  may  be,  and  no  mat- 
ter how  high  or  how  low  the  standing  of  the  infringing  firm. 

This  is  a  less  formidable  task  than  it  would  seem  at  first  sight, 
for  nobody  likes  to  be  sued,  and  when  chronic  infringers  realize  that 
a  firm  is  prepared  to  take  them  into  court,  if  necessary,  they  carefully 
avoid  taking  liberties  with  any  of  its  brands.  When  large  sums  are 
being  annually  paid  for  the  establishment  of  a  brand,  it  is  the  worst 
possible  policy,  and  a  most  expensive  one,  to  show  the  least  sign  of 
weakness  in  this  regard. 

How  a  Beginning  May  be  Made. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  one  need  not  spend  an  ocean  of 
money  when  beginning  advertising. 

Suppose  that  a  mill  is  running  along  in  the  usual  way,  then,  let 
a  start  be  made  with  one  article,  and,  whether  it  sells  largely,  or  slowly, 
or  not  at  all,  the  general  business  is  in  no  wise  interfered  with. 

It  is  of  great  importance  that  a  good  name  be  selected  or  devised. 
It  should  be  descriptive  of  the  article,  if  possible;  it  should  have 
character,  and  be  of  a  kind  easily  remembered  and  not  too  long ;  and  it 
should  be  one  that  can  be  legally  registered. 

The  advertising  could  be  begun  on  a  small  scale,  but  in  some  well- 
thought-out  direction,  and  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  much  of  the 
value  of  this  kind  of  publicity  is  in  its  cumulative  effect.  Erratic  and 
intermittent  methods  fall  far  short  of  the  results  that  can  be  got  from 
a  steadily  pursued  policy. 

Trying  Out  Various  Methods. 

A  useful  plan  is  to  set  aside  a  definite  amount  of  money  for  ad- 


304  ADVERTISED  FABRICS 

vertising  and  entrust  the  laying  out  of  it  to  some  specialist  in  that  line, 
who  will  advise  as  to  the  best  methods  to  adopt.  It  is  well  to  try  and 
arrange  it  so  that  the  results  from  each  kind  of  publicity  can  be 
identified,  with  a  view  to  pushing  those  that  have  proved  most  suc- 
cessful and  eliminating  the  others. 

Certain  methods  may  prove  best  in  the  great  cities,  others  in  the 
country  towns.  If,  for  instance,  it  was  desired  to  reach  the  dress- 
makers in  the  big  cities,  and  two  or  more  methods  were  under  con- 
sideration, one  of  them  could  be  tried  out  in  one  city,  and  the  others 
in  other  cities,  with  a  view  to  finding  out  by  actual  test  which  was  the 
better. 

When  it  is  known  that  you  are  advertising,  the  people  who  want 
your  money  for  such  service  flock  round  you  in  swarms,  each  one  pro- 
testing, and  apparently  proving,  that  by  his  medium  alone  shall  you 
be  saved.  You  must,  therefore,  as  before  stated,  enlist  an  experienced 
and  reliable  man  for  this  service,  allot  your  money,  plan  carefully  your 
campaign,  be  it  large  or  small,  and — stick  to  your  text. 

Different  Mediums  for  Publicity. 

Among  the  mediums  that  will  afford  you  publicity,  there  are  the 
trade  papers,  particularly  those  that  have  a  fashion  side;  the  fashion 
papers — weekly  or  monthly ;  the  widely  circulated  weeklies,  particularly 
those  catering  to  women ;  the  ordinary  monthly  magazines ;  the  daily 
papers;  theatre  programmes;  street  car,  subway,  or  elevated  railway 
advertising ;  wall  display ;  posters  at  railway  stations ;  signs  alongside 
the  railway  lines ;  and  a  host  of  other  ways. 

Then,  there  are  circulars,  letters,  and  samples  to  be  sent  to  dis- 
tributers and  to  dressmakers,  notices  by  fashion  writers  to  be  arranged 
for,  display  costumes  to  be  got  into  the  show  rooms  of  those  who  dis- 
play advance  models  to  the  dressmaking  interests,  the  inducing  of  cus- 
tomers, who  have  bought  the  goods,  to  make  a  special  display  of  them 
in  their  windows  for  a  week  or  so,  and  the  arranging  to  have  gowns, 
made  of  your  materials,  worn  by  stage  celebrities  and  then  have  them 
cleverly  written  up. 

Judicious  advertising  can  even  be  done  in  Paris,  and,  by  getting 
in  return  favorable  notices  about  your  fabrics  from  the  fashion  papers 
of  that  city,  it  has  a  reflex  effect  on  the  buying  public  here. 

All  of  these  and  many  other  methods  will  come  up  for  discussion, 
but  only  a  few  of  them  can  be  followed.  It  should  always  be  borne  in 
mind  that  it  is  extremely  easy  to  waste  money  in  this  branch  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  money  so  misused  is  gone,  never  to  return.  In  fact,  it  is 
probably  safe  to  say  that  more  than  half  of  all  the  money  spent  in  all 
kinds  of  advertising,  and  applied  to  all  kinds  of  merchandise,  is  abso- 
lutely wasted.  Great  discrimination,  coupled  with  fair  liberality,  is 
necessary. 


ADVERTISED  FABRICS  305 

The  Value  of  an  Established  Brand. 

When  a  brand  is  once  thoroughly  established,  it  is  a  fortune  to  its 
possessor.  The  owners  of  some  great  textile  trade-marks  do  not  own 
or  operate  a  loom,  but  have  all  their  goods  made  for  them  on  contract, 
they  reaping  a  large  profit,  while  the  manufacturer,  who  weaves  the 
goods  for  them  on  commission,  may  be  hardly  getting  his  cost  back. 

Time  Needed  to  Produce  Results. 

One  should  not  be  discouraged  if  returns  seem  slow  in  coming. 
They  will  come  in  time,  and  the  slower  they  come  the  surer  they  are. 
A  year's  careful  trial,  and  perhaps  less,  should  be  sufficient  to  show 
if  the  right  path  is  being  followed,  and  if  so,  and  if  the  returns  are 
encouraging,  the  scope  of  operations  could  be  increased.  As  the  sales 
of  the  advertised  articles  grow,  the  least  desirable  parts  of  the  other 
product  of  the  mills  could  be  weeded  out,  and  eventually  the  greater 
part  of  the  output  would  be  the  specialties. 

Other  Important  Points. 

It  may  be  necessary  for  the  advertiser  to  carry  a  fairly  good  stock 
of  his  branded  goods,  so  as  to  be  able  always  to  promptly  supply  the 
people  whose  trade  he  is  soliciting.  He  has  also  got  to  be  careful 
not  to  allow  his  customers  to  over-buy  themselves,  particularly  on 
questionable  colors,  for,  if  they  cannot  sell  them,  and  as  they  are  not 
allowed  to  cut  the  price,  they  may  have  to  be  taken  back,  and  he  will 
suffer.  Sometimes  they  may  be  successfully  redyed,  at  the  customer's 
cost,  of  course,  but  it  is  much  the  best  to  feed  out  the  goods,  a  few  at 
a  time,  and  then,  at  the  season's  end,  the  distributer  has  a  clean  stock, 
has  made  money  on  his  purchases,  is  pleased  with  you  and  with  your 
goods,  and  is  ready  to  buy  more  the  following  season. 

In  fixing  the  prices,  it  is  well  to  try  to  arrange  them  at  figures  that 
will  permit  the  paying  of  a  price  for  raw  materials  rather  above  the 
average  cost,  as  it  is  very  undesirable  to  have  to  disturb  established 
prices  on  account  of  raw  material  fluctuations. 

In  this  way,  if  raw  materials  were  very  high,  there  would  be  a  little 
profit — at  any  rate,  no  loss ;  if  at  medium  prices,  a  fair  return ;  and,  if 
low,  a  large  profit. 

Let  Consumers  Know  Who  Manufactures  Their  Goods. 
Those  manufacturers  who  have  reason  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the 
returns  from  their  business,  may  do  well  to  consider  the  matters  herein 
set  forth,  and  each  with  his  own  fabrics,  and  each  in  his  own  way, 
should  go  over  the  head  of  every  intermediary  and  explain  their  merits 
to  his  real  customer — the  woman  who  wears  them. 


XXVII 

THE  QUESTION  OF  MAKING  GOODS  FOR  STOCK 


Theoretically  speaking,  a  mill  is  not  supposed  to  carry  any  stock 
goods  at  all ;  that  is,  goods  made  at  its  own  risk,  to  be  sold  either  at  the 
time  when  they  are  being  made  or  subsequently. 

Its  sales  agents  are  also  supposed  to  be  clever  enough  to  foresee 
what  sort  of  goods,  and  at  what  prices,  the  market  is  going  to  require, 
and  then,  from  the  samples  that  they  cause  the  mill  to  get  up,  they  are 
to  book  sufficient  advance  orders  to  keep  it  fully  employed,  so  that  all 
goods  coming  in  will  be  sold  to  arrive,  and  not  a  piece  of  stock  goods 
will  have  been  manufactured. 

This  policy  is  always  difficult,  and  generally  impossible,  to  carry  out 
in  practice,  and  for  many  reasons  stock  goods  will,  and  do,  accumu- 
late, and  the  well  being  of  a  concern  is  in  a  great  measure  dependent 
upon  how  closely  it  keeps  these  accumulations  sold  up.  Some  of  the 
causes  that  lead  to  the  piling  up  of  unsold  goods  may  be  briefly  referred 
to  here. 

How  Stock  Goods  Accumulate. 

There  are  the  type-pieces  made  for  the  purpose  of  properly  dis- 
playing the  goods.  Some  of  these  are  necessary,  but  many  of  them  are 
ordered  with  but  little  thought,  pieces  being  called  for  when  a  short 
sample  length  would  do  as  well.  Full  pieces  will  be  ordered  when 
demi-pieces  would  answer  all  purposes,  and  many  are  made  without 
any  sufficient  reason. 

These  sample  pieces,  trifling  in  amount  as  they  may  seem,  accumu- 
late quite  fast,  and  lock  up  considerable  money,  and,  as  they  are  all 
odd  pieces,  when  they  are  cleaned  up  they  seldom  bring  as  much  as 
fifty  cents  on  the  dollar. 

Then,  there  are  imperfect  goods,  or  seconds,  sent  in  from  the  mill, 
and  some  of  them  must  always  be  looked  for,  in  addition  to  those  pieces 


MAKING  GOODS  FOR  STOCK  307 

that  are  fairly  merchantable  but  are  erroneously  considered  not  good 
enough  to  send  out  by  the  salesmen,  and  so  are  held  back  in  the  stock. 

To  these  should  be  added  those  pieces  that  are  made  as  the  result 
of  mistakes,  whether  on  the  part  of  the  sales  office  by  carelessness  in 
transmitting  the  orders,  or  on  the  part  of  the  mill  in  executing  them. 

A  heavy  accumulation  comes  from  the  cancellation  of  orders  by  the 
buyers,  greater,  of  course,  in  bad  seasons  than  in  good  ones,  and 
naturally  entailing  at  such  times  a  loss  to  the  mill  of  an  unusually 
aggravated  character.  Rejections  of  goods  by  buyers  on  the  ground 
of  imperfections,  or  for  not  being  up  to  sample,  are  frequent  and  in 
many  cases  are  without  substantial  foundation. 

Another  important  class  is  that  of  goods  cancelled  on  account  of 
late  deliveries,  and  late  goods  there  always  will  be,  so  long  as  the 
custom  obtains  of  allowing  the  mill  insufficient  time  in  which  to  make 
them,  which  is  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  The  production 
of  goods  requires  the  correlation  of  so  many  various  activities,  the 
bringing  together  of  so  many  different  materials,  and  the  loyal  service 
and  conscientious  work  of  so  many  skilled  operatives,  that,  if  there  is 
any  delay  or  trouble  in  any  one  direction,  late  goods  will  be  the  result, 
and  late  goods  are  generally  stock  goods. 

Again,  there  will  accumulate  at  the  mill,  from  time  to  time,  odd 
lots  of  material  that  are  not  just  in  the  direction  of  work,  and  which 
are  practically  dead.  When  business  is  slack,  these  lots  are  frequently 
worked  up  into  such  fabrics  as  may  seem  fairly  salable — and  thus  a 
few  scores  or  hundreds  of  pieces  come  into  being. 

Then,  there  are  pieces  made  to  fill  out  warps.  Mills  generally 
desire  to  make  full  warps,  say  300  yards,  and  in  some  of  the  colors 
of  a  line  only  three  or  four  pieces  may  have  been  ordered,  and  full 
warps  of  these  colors  will  be  put  in  work  in  the  expectation  that  the 
odd  pieces  over  will  be  readily  sold.  These  odd  pieces  are  generally 
not  easily  sold,  and  help  to  swell  the  stock,  and  the  consequent  loss 
when  they  are  marketed.  To  make  one  6o-yard  piece  of  plain  goods 
will  probably  cost  15  per  cent,  more  per  yard  than  it  would  if  300 
yards  had  been  made,  and  yet  in  the  long  run  it  pays  better  to  make 
the  short  warp  at  a  loss  rather  than  to  suffer  the  heavier  loss  on  the 
stock. 

The  foregoing  instances  will  show  to  what  an  extent  stock  goods 
can  accumulate  on  the  shelves  of  any  mill,  even  of  those  doing  a 
strictly  order  business,  and  the  necessity  of  a  well  thought  out  and 
vigorous  policy  to  keep  such  stock  always  at  a  low  limit. 

Inducements  to  Manufacture  Stock   Goods. 

We  will  now  consider  the  more  serious  and  important  phases  of  this 
problem — namely,  the  questions  of  whether  it  is  necessary  that  there 
should  be  an  underlying  stock  to  do  business  on ;  the  making  of  quanti- 
ties of  goods  so  as  to  have  a  full  stock  of  desirable  goods  on  hand 


308  MAKING  GOODS  FOR  STOCK 

ready  for  the  buyers  when  they  want  them ;  the  making  of  stock  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  money  advances  for  the  financing  of  the  busi- 
ness ;  and  the  weaving  of  goods  to  keep  machinery  employed,  and 
prevent  the  organization  from  disintegrating,  at  times  when  advance 
orders  are  not  obtainable. 

Salesmen  Insistent  Upon  Carrying  Stock. 

Most  salesmen  will  strenuously  contend  that  a  reasonable  amount 
of  goods,  of  each  line  shown,  must  be  carried  in  stock,  so  as  to  make 
a  proper  display  to  customers  and  so  assist  sales,  and  they  also  point 
to  the  fact  that  by  having  some  goods  in  stock  pieces  can  be  furnished 
to  those  buyers  who  must  have  immediate  deliveries,  and  who  otherwise 
would  have  to  seek  elsewhere,  and  that  the  volume  of  these  spot  sales 
is  by  no  means  inconsiderable. 

As  the  salesmen  have  to  sell  the  goods,  and  are  thus  closer  in 
touch  with  their  customers  than  are  the  manufacturers,  their  opinion 
regarding  all  such  matters  should  receive  careful  attention  and  full 
consideration. 

As  the  losses,  and  very  heavy  losses  they  can  be,  that  always  attend 
the  final  closing  out  of  such  lines  of  stock  merchandise,  do  not  fall 
upon  the  salesmen,  it  becomes  pertinent  to  consider  what  would  be 
their  views  on  this  question  if  their  own  pockets  had  to  stand  a  liberal 
share  of  the  losses.  Would  they  then  think  it  was  necessary  to  provide 
a  line  of  stock  goods,  at  their  own  risk,  for  the  sake  of  enabling  the 
buyers  to  keep  out  of  the  market  till  they  were  exactly  sure  of  what 
they  would  need,  and  who  then  would  come  in  at  the  last  moment  and 
find  that  the  manufacturer  had  accommodatingly  anticipated  their 
wants  ?  Emphatically,  no !  And  yet  this  they  desire  the  manufacturer 
to  do.  And  would  the  trade,  so  catered  to,  feel  in  the  least  obligated 
to  interest  themselves  in  those  other  fabrics  and  other  colors,  also  pro- 
vided for  their  convenience,  and  which  they  had  not  thought  of  buy- 
ing? By  no  means. 

Bare  Shelves  'Mean  Larger  Profits. 

From  the  salesman's  standpoint,  an  underlying  stock  facilitates 
sales,  and  sales  are  supposed  to  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
a  profit ;  but  if,  owing  to  the  heavy  losses  in  the  final  closing  out  of  this 
stock,  the  total  profit  will  be  heavily  cut  into,  it  follows  that,  by  avoid- 
ing the  making  of  stock,  a  much  larger  net  profit  may  be  secured  by  a 
much  smaller  volume  of  sales. 

A  mill  does  not  make  a  jobbing  profit,  though  in  a  large  measure, 
selling  pieces  and  demi-pieces,»it  is  compelled  to  do  a  jobber's  business ; 
but  if,  on  the  top  of  this,  it  is  to  be  expected  to  carry  a  jobber's  stock, 
its  chances  of  making  money  are  very  remote. 

When  salesmen,  therefore,  insist  that  to  have  a  liberal  stock  on 
hand  is  a  requirement  of  the  business,  and  that,  as  the  saying  is,  it  is 
necessary  to  gamble  on  the  goods,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  they 


MAKING  GOODS  FOR  STOCK  309 

want  the  gambling  to  be  done  at  their  principal's  risk  and  not  at 
their  own,  and  the  value  of  their  advice  can  be  measured  accordingly. 

Difficulty  of  Getting  Full  Price  for  Goods  on  Hand. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that,  very  frequently,  the  having  of 
goods  on  hand  militates  against  their  sale.  Buyers  are  not  so  likely  to 
place  advance  orders  if  they  feel  they  can  buy  what  they  need  from 
stock.  Salesmen  lose  faith  in  the  values  of  goods  lying  in  stock  and 
not  moving  rapidly,  and  do  not  have  the  same  heart  to  make  a  fight 
for  a  full  price  against  the  attacks  of  the  buyers  as  they  would  have 
if  they  knew  the  goods  had  to  be  made,  and  that,  therefore,  lower  prices 
would  not  be  considered. 

The  buyer,  also,  except  for  very  desirable  goods,  would  never 
dream  of  paying  full  prices  for  any  decent  sized  lot  of  stuff  if  he 
knew  it  was  in  stock.  That  this  is  the  case  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  many  sagacious  sales  agents  find  it  advantageous  to  keep  all  their 
stock  out  of  sight,  except  a  few  pieces  of  each  line,  and,  no  matter 
how  much  they  may  have,  never  profess  to  be  able  to  deliver  more  than 
a  piece  or  two,  alleging  that  they  will  have  to  get  more  in  from  the 
mill  before  they  can  complete  the  quantity  needed. 

It  is  axiomatic  in  this,  as  in  other  affairs  of  life,  that  what  is  diffi- 
cult to  get,  and  what  has  to  be  waited  for,  is  valued,  and  that  which 
can  be  had  for  the  asking  is  held  in  small  esteem. 

In  presenting  a  line  of  goods  to  the  trade,  suitable  type-pieces  must 
be  shown,  and  it  is  no  doubt  well  to  show  them  in  a  number  of  different 
colors,  so  as  to  make  the  best  impression  possible,  but  half-a-dozen 
pieces  of  a  line  should  be  ample  for  all  ordinary  purposes. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  matter  of  the  policy  of  doing  the  business 
largely  on  a  stock  basis,  the  taking  of  advance  orders  being  somewhat 
incidental. 

Stock  Required  for  a  Novelty  Business. 

In  certain  directions,  this  is  more  or  less  of  a  necessity.  Thus,  a 
house  making  high  novelties  and  bringing  forward  new  things  contin- 
ually, must,  to  be  successful,  be  able  very  accurately  to  forecast  the  de- 
mand, for  in  such  articles  it  is  difficult  to  get  customers  to  commit 
themselves  to  orders  long  in  advance. 

A  concern  with  the  necessary  prestige,  engaged  in  this  business, 
may  find  it  to  its  interest  to  have  the  proper  stock  on  hand  at  the  time 
the  buyers  are  ready  for  it,  and  if  they  can  judge  the  market  correctly 
four  times  out  of  five,  and  demand  and  get  a  sufficient  profit,  all  will 
be  well. 

On  novelties,  in  fact,  many  manufacturers  are  shy  of  an  advance  or- 
der business,  for,  with  the  many  cancellations  that  may  be  expected, 
they  may  find  themselves  with  a  considerable  amount  of  very  ill  as- 
sorted goods  on  hand,  made  on  the  other  fellow's  judgment,  and  which 
they  would  have  never  woven  if  at  their  own  risk. 


310  MAKING  GOODS  FOR  STOCK 

What  Is  Necessary  When  Handling  Advertised  Fabrics. 

Then  there  are  the  advertised  goods,  carrying  trade  marks  and  spe- 
cially branded.  If  the  advertising  is  well  done,  such  lines  should  grad- 
ually increase  in  sale,  so  that  a  demand  considerably  in  excess  of  the 
advance  business  booked  could  be  reasonably  looked  for.  Further- 
more, if,  after  leading  people  by  your  advertisements  to  demand  your 
goods,  you  should  not  be  able  to  supply  the  demands  for  your  merchan- 
dise in  reasonable  time  and  in  reasonable  quantity,  you  would  give 
real  grounds  for  serious  dissatisfaction.  In  such  cases  it  is  obvious 
that  a  stock,  sufficient  in  amount  to  meet  the  demand  fairly  to  be  ex- 
pected, must  be  prepared  in  advance. 

How  Certain  Staple  Goods  Are  Distributed. 

On  certain  goods,  again,  of  a  staple  character,  the  business  is  largely 
done  from  stock,  or  at  any  rate  the  orders  are  not  placed  far  in  ad- 
vance. People  making  black  taffetas,  cotton-back  satins,  foulards, 
and  other  goods  of  a  plain  character,  must  either  weave  the  most  of 
their  goods  in  advance  of  orders,  or  do  relatively  little  business  on 
them.  On  those  lines  in  which  the  trade  is  practically  a  one-season 
business,  the  goods  so  accumulated  may  have  to  be  held  for  a  long  time 
before  the  season  for  selling  comes,  and  the  consequent  locking  up  of 
capital  is  very  embarrassing. 

Making  Stock  for  Commission  House  Advances. 

Now  comes  the  very  serious  evil  of  the  making  of  stock  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  advances  of  money  on  it  from  the  commission 
house  which  clears  the  goods.  This  practice  is  very  common  under 
the  prevailing  system  of  mill  financing — in  fact  it  is  created  and  fos- 
tered by  it — and  no  practice  is  more  demoralizing  to  the  market  than 
this. 

The  commission-house  system  has  come  into  being  from  the  fact 
that  the  banks  of  the  country  cannot,  or  will  not,  furnish  to  the  mills 
the  funds  necessary  to  finance  them,  in  transacting  their  business  along 
the  lines  on  which  it  is  necessary  to  do  it. 

The  facilities  that  the  commission  houses  offer,  in  the  shape  of  ad- 
vances on  goods  sent  to  them  for  sale,  are  such  as  to  enable  mills  to 
operate  much  more  machinery  on  a  given  capital  than  they  otherwise 
could,  or  should. 

This  is  a  gain  to  the  commission  house,  as  it  thus  has  more  goods 
to  sell  and  consequently  receives  more  commission,  and  the  manu- 
facturer likewise  has  a  basis  for  larger  profits,  both  benefiting — if 
business  is  good  and  all  goes  well. 

Whenever  business  is  bad  or  slack,  and  orders  are  not  to  be  had, 
the  mill,  with  its  too  limited  capital  for  the  business  it  is  doing,  finds 
that  it  has  no  orders  to  go  on  with  and  that  it  must  let  its  looms  run 
out,  while  its  capital  is  all  locked  up  in  plant  and  machinery  or  tied  up 


MAKING  GOODS  FOR  STOCK  311 

in  equities  in  undelivered  order  goods,  or  stock  goods,  in  the  hands  of 
its  factors.  Meantime,  raw-silk  bills  and  notes,  and  other  obligations, 
will  be  falling  due  in  a  constant  succession,  and  how  are  they  to  be 
met  if  there  is  no  product  coming  forward?  Either  orders  may  be 
got  under  pressure  at  prices  below  the  cost  of  manufacture,  or  stock 
goods  must  be  made  for  advances. 

The  commission-house  people  do  not  feel  justified  in  advancing 
funds  beyond  the  limits  which  their  experience  has  shown  them  to  be 
safe,  and  at  such  times  it  is  most  difficult  to  sell  the  stock  goods  and 
thus  release  the  equities  in  them.  In  fact,  if  the  stock  goods  were  forced 
to  a  sale,  a  price  so  low  would  probably  be  realized  that  all  the  equity 
in  them  would  be  wiped  out. 

Under  such  circumstances,  no  matter  how  much  he  may  dislike  to 
do  it,  and  no  matter  how  his  business  judgment  may  rebel  against  it, 
the  weak  manufacturer  is  forced  into  making  stock  goods  as  his  only 
chance  of  avoiding  disaster.  The  same  cause,  acting  in  many  quar- 
ters at  once,  burdens  the  market  with  such  an  excessive  stock  of  mer- 
chandise, and  at  a  time  when  fewer  goods  are  needed,  that  the  effect 
upon  prices  is  most  disastrous  and  the  whole  trade  suffers. 

So  long  as  the  system  continues  which  creates  those  conditions, 
there  is  but  little  use  in  quarreling  with  the  effect.  Just  so  long  as 
manufacturers  are  forced  by  imperious  financial  necessity  into  adopt- 
ing this  course,  just  so  long  will  it  be  done. 

Stock  Goods  Mean  Commissions  for  Factors. 
While  commission  houses  seldom  encourage  their  mills,  at  such 
times,  to  make  unsold  goods,  it  may  fairly  be  pointed  out  that  the  prac- 
tice is  of  distinct  advantage  to  them  so  long  as  they  can  keep  their  ad- 
vances properly  protected.  It  is  evident  that  if  mills  produce  no  goods 
there  will  be  no  sales,  and  consequently  no  commissions,  and  a  full  pro- 
duction of  goods,  no  matter  at  what  price  finally  sold,  is  very  much  to 
the  interest  of  the  selling  agent. 

Stoppage  of  Production  Is  Disastrous. 

The  heavy  general  expense  attendant  upon  the  operation  of  a  mill 
makes  a  full  production  obligatory,  if  the  costs  are  to  be  kept  at  a 
properly  low  figure,  and  competition  with  other  concerns  thus  made 
possible. 

When  order  business  is  unobtainable,  most  manufacturers  prefer  to 
make  more  or  less  stock,  rather  than  stop  their  looms,  so  long  as  they  do 
not  bank  up  goods  to  an  excessive  extent. 

If  a  mill  lets  a  lot  of  machinery  run  out,  it  takes  a  long  time  to 
get  it  all  going  again  after  the  orders  come.  Meantime,  the  valuable 
skilled  help  gets  scattered;  the  organization  becomes  badly  disinte- 
grated; and  raw  materials  provided  for  the  mill  remain  unused,  with 
loss  of  interest,  a  locking  up  of  capital,  and  probably,  also,  with  rapidly 


312  MAKING  GOODS  FOR  STOCK 

declining  values.    The  mill  expense  is  not  much  diminished,  and  the  cost 
per  unit  on  the  output  that  is  left  is  greatly  increased. 

To  avoid  these  evils,  it  may  often  be  better  to  risk  the  stocking  of 
such  goods  as  would  fairly  seem  to  be  soon  marketable,  and,  even  if  they 
had  to  be  sold  at  a  low  price,  it  might  be  better  for  the  mill  than  if  the 
looms  had  been  idle,  in  which  event  neither  the  mill  expense  or  the  sell- 
ing expense  on  the  goods  so  produced  would  have  been  earned. 

Piece-dye  and  Yarn-dye  Costs. 

In  such  cases  it  is  generally  safer  to  bank  up  piece-dye  goods  than 
yarn  dyes,  as  on  the  latter  the  difficulty  of  knowing  what  colors  fo 
make  is  obvious,  and  wrong  colors  are  fatal. 

Most  piece-dye  goods  are  made  of  material  that  does  not  have  to 
be  thrown,  and  of  course  they  are  kept  undyed  till  wanted,  so  these 
charges  are  not  then  incurred.  On  the  other  hand,  schappe  and  cotton 
yarns  are  sold  almost  on  a  cash  basis,  and  silk  for  single- weaving  on  a 
relatively  short  time,  so  that  there  may  not  be  such  a  great  difference  in 
the  financing  of  a  piece-dyed  product  as  compared  with  a  yarn-dyed  one. 

Importance  of  Preventing  Stock  Accumulations. 

With  all  of  these  factors  operating  to  cause  the  accumulation  of 
stock,  it  is  evident  that  the  problem  that  faces  every  mill  as  to  how  to 
deal  with  the  matter  is  one  of  first-class  importance. 

Generally  speaking,  all  goods  should  be  forced  to  a  sale  during  the 
season  they  have  been  made  for,  as  they  will  rarely  bring  a  better  price 
than  what  can  then  be  obtained.  The  thing  is — and  too  often  it  is  neg- 
lected— to  force  the  sale  while  buyers  are  still  to  be  had.  If  goods  that 
have  recently  come  in  are  not  moving,  it  is  hard  for  the  one  who  ordered 
them  made  to  admit  his  error  even  to  himself,  and,  instead  of  facing  the 
mistake  and  taking  the  medicine,  he  maintains  the  price  in  the  hope  of 
still  placing  them,  and  so  lets  the  season  go  past,  entailing  a  locking  up 
of  money,  a  loss  of  interest,  and  a  worse  price  later  on. 

Odd  lots  of  stock  goods,  if  in  any  quantity,  bother  the  salesmen  and 
paralyze  their  efforts,  and  take  much  of  their  attention  off  the  getting  of 
the  order  business  that  is  so  necessary. 

Enlisting  the  Auctioneer's  Services. 

Some  big  houses  used  to  have  a  cleaning-up  sale  in  the  auction  room 
every  year,  into  which  sale  went  everything  of  a  questionable  or  undesir- 
able character,  with  often  enough  new  and  desirable  goods  to  help  to 
attract  a  good  company  of  buyers  to  the  sale.  This  policy  had  much  to 
commend  it. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  stated  that  nothing  is  of  more  importance 
than  an  aggressive,  well  considered,  and  closely  followed  up  policy  for 
the  prompt  marketing,  at  the  best  price  obtainable,  of  each  and  every 
lot  of  these  constantly  accumulating  odd  lots  of  stock  goods. 


XXVIII 

REGARDING  AUCTION  SALES 


It  is  a  surprising  thing  that  so  few  of  the  selling  agents  who  repre- 
sent textile  mills  are  in  the  habit  of  making  sales  at  auction,  and  that 
often  those  who  do  so  dislike  to  have  their  names  known  in  connection 
therewith.  In  fact,  this  valuable  means  of  marketing  goods  is  seriously 
neglected,  though  most  houses  could  regularly  use  the  auction-room 
facilities  to  great  advantage. 

Yet  the  reasons  for  making  forced  sales  of  this  kind  are  recur- 
ring semi-annually,  or  annually,  and  are  very  potent. 

How  Stock  Will  Accumulate. 

In  spite  of  good  management  and  good  salesmanship  stock  will 
accumulate  to  a  greater  or  less  degree.  There  are  goods  cancelled, 
rejected,  and  returned;  goods  late  for  delivery;  others  made  wrong 
in  color,  design,  or  weave,  from  mistakes  at  the  store  or  mill;  lots 
made  to  work  up  parcels  of  raw  material  that  otherwise  would  lie 
unused  in  stock;  some  goods  made  here  and  there  to  fill  gaps  between 
the  running  out  of  warps  in  the  looms  and  the  mounting  of  other 
warps  for  goods  wanted  for  orders ;  and  then,  of  course,  there  is  the 
unsold  portion  of  lines  of  goods,  purposely  made  for  stock,  when  it  is 
the  policy  of  the  mill  to  put  goods  in  work  in  advance  of  orders. 

Most  selling  agents  consider  it  desirable,  or  necessary,  to  have 
a  reasonable  underlying  stock  of  goods  as  a  basis  on  which  to  trans- 
act business,  and  such  a  stock  will  seldom  be  less  than  an  amount 
equal  to  one  month's  production  of  the  mill,  and  may  be  much  more. 
While  some  of  this  basic  stock  goes  out  all  the  time,  much  of  it  moves 
sluggishly,  and  much  always  remains  unsold,  and  in  the  regular 
course,  day  by  day,  becomes  more  passe,  while  it  is  essential  to  have 
it  fresh,  new,  and  constantly  changing. 


314  REGARDING  AUCTION  SALES 

Perplexities  of  the  Sales  Manager. 

With  these  accumulations  occurring,  season  after  season,  the  sales 
manager  has  ever  a  difficult  and  perplexing  problem.  He  does  not 
wish  to  sacrifice  values,  to  break  the  prices  of  regular  goods,,  or  to  dis- 
credit himself,  yet  sell  them  in  some  way  he  must. 

To  market  these  goods  in  the  regular  way  and  at  fairly  full  prices 
is,  in  practice,  impossible  but  that  is  what  many  houses  fatuously  try 
to  do.  The  result  is  that  the  efforts  and  energies  of  managers  and 
salesmen  are  paralyzed  by  the  constant  struggle  to  work  down  the 
stock,  and  the  time  and  thought  that  should  be  given  to  the  produc- 
tion and  marketing  of  new  fabrics  cannot  be  sufficiently  applied  to  that 
important  work.  The  dead  weight  of  the  stock  lies  like  an  incubus 
upon  the  department. 

Losses  Incurred  by  Carrying  Stock. 

Then  there  is  interest  constantly  piling  up  on  the  slow  stock,  as 
well  as  the  large  insurance  that  must  be  carried,  and,  as  many  goods 
will  lie  unsold  year  after  year,  the  accumulated  interest  and  expenses 
eaten  up  by  these  old  lots  is  appalling.  Much  money  and  time  is  lost 
in  the  constant  sampling  of  stock  lots,  and  when  taking  stock,  and 
at  other  times  the  recording  and  checking  off  of  them  is  no  incon- 
siderable task.  Then  styles  and  colors  become  obsolete  and  many 
weighted  fabrics  become  tender  or  rotten. 

To  avoid  such  a  condition  of  affairs  it  would  be  necessary  to  force 
the  sale  of  them  in  some  way,  either  by  private  sale  at  a  known,  but 
very  low,  figure,  or  at  public  sale,  taking  all  the  chances  that  attend 
such  a  manner  of  selling. 

Low  Prices  Made  at  Private  Sale. 

Of  late  years,  clearance  by  private  sale  has  been  the  fashion,  but 
I  believe  that  it  is  rare  that  goods,  so  sold,  will  yield  as  much  as  they 
would  under  the  hammer.  They  have  to  be  sold  in  large  lots  either  to 
jobbers  or  big  retailers,  and  these  distributers  will  not  touch  them  ex- 
cept at  prices  so  extremely  low  that,  when  they  resell  them,  they  can 
offer  them  at  bargain  prices  to  their  customers.  Such  sales  entail 
absurdly  heavy  losses. 

The  general  method  is  to  attempt  to  peddle  them  out  as  occasion 
offers,  but  the  expense  and  time  that  this  involves,  the  interest,  and 
interest  on  interest — ever  accumulating,  and  the  constantly  diminish- 
ing value  of  the  merchandise,  makes  the  aggregate  loss  entailed  by  this 
policy  generally  much  greater  than  that  entailed  by  the  quick  clean-up 
of  the  auction  room. 

What  is  it,  then,  that  makes  men  with  heavy  stocks  that  are  worry- 
ing them  afraid  to  auction  them,  for  unquestionably  most  sellers  are 
afraid  of  the  auction  room?  Even  when  an  auctioneer  suggests  to 


REGARDING  AUCTION  SALES  315 

some  loaded-up  manufacturer  that  he  try  a  sale,  the  answer  will  prob- 
ably be  that  he  has  no  unsold  stock  on  hand  worth  talking  about, 
athough  the  next  week  he  may  let  out  some  thousands  of  pieces 
through  a  jobber  at  about  60%  of  their  cost. 

Why  Sales  Agents  Are  Against  Auctioning. 

There  are  a  number  of  causes  that  may  affect  the  seller's  feelings 
in  this  matter.  Prominent  among  them  is  his  amour  propre.  It  seems 
to  him  a  confession  of  weak  management  if  he  has  to  ask  the  public 
to  name  the  prices  on  his  product,  and  he  fears  the  criticism  of  his 
manufacturer  and  the  remarks  of  his  competitors.  By  selling  the 
goods  even  cheaper  at  private  sale  he  may  incur  a  bigger  loss,  but  he 
"saves  his  face"  before  the  trade.  This  is  a  false  sensitiveness. 

Then,  if  goods  have  only  recently  been  made,  he  finds  it  hard  to 
admit,  even  to  himself,  that  he  has  committed  an  error  of  judgment 
in  making  them,  and  so  holds  on  to  them  too  long  in  an  attempt  to 
realize  the  regular  price.  They  are  thus  carried  past  the  time  when 
they  can  be  sold  and  lie  over  till  the  next  season,  locking  up  capital, 
eating  up  interest  and  expenses,  and  bringing  an  even  lower  price  in 
the  end. 

Goods  will  rarely  bring  more  than  they  will  during  the  season  for 
which  they  have  been  made. 

If  the  manufacturer's  financial  standing  is  not  of  the  best,  he 
may  fear  that  it  might  have  an  adverse  effect  upon  his  credit,  and 
certainly  it  would  be  apt  to  cause  inquiry. 

He  may  be  afraid  that  customers  who  had  bought  lines  of  goods 
at  regular  prices,  and  which  lines  would  be  represented  in  the  sale, 
might  be  provoked,  and  would  be  disinclined  to  trade  with  him  in  the 
future  unless  he  guaranteed  his  prices. 

By  carrying  the  stock,  and  peddling  the  goods  out,  the  financial 
statement  of  the  firm  might  show  up  better  than  if  the  inevitable  loss 
were  faced  at  once  and  a  sale  made,  with  the  consequent  shrinkage  of 
assets  that  the  books  would  then  show. 

Again,  if  the  merchandise  had  been  advanced  on  to  the  limit,  and 
most  concerns  taking  advances  generally  call  for  all  they  can  get, 
the  commission  merchant  might  not  sanction  selling  the  goods  at 
auction,  fearing  that  the  sale  might  go  badly  and  that  the  equity  of 
the  manufacturer  in  the  stock  might  not  only  be  wiped  out,  but  that 
there  might  be  a  substantial  deficit  for  which  he  would  be  unprotected. 

A  broader  point  of  view  on  the  part  of  the  commission  merchant 
might  save  heavy  losses  to  the  manufacturer,  and  perhaps  to  himself, 
later  on. 

If  the  dead  or  inactive  goods  will  not  net  the  amount  of  the  ad- 
vances on  them  under  the  hammer  they  are  hardly  likely  to  do  at 
private  sale,  and  keeping  them  in  stock  to  look  at  will  not  make  them 
any  better. 


316  REGARDING  AUCTION  SALES 

They  should  be  auctioned,  but  if  there  is  a  shortage  it  should  not 
be  charged  to  the  goods  then  coming  in  from  the  mill — the  advances 
on  which  may  be  imperatively  needed  for  current  requirements — but 
should  be  carried  along,  and  substantial  time  given  to  the  manufac- 
turer to  make  it  up. 

If  this  was  the  custom,  manufacturers  would  be  less  inclined  to 
try  and  bolster  up  the  value  of  a  stock  that  was  rapidly  declining  in 
value,  fearing  that  if  a  sale  was  forced  on  it  their  money  supplies 
from  their  factors  would  be  cut  off  until  the  deficit  was  made  up. 

Some  sellers,  too,  may  be  afraid  that,  after  having  made  one  or 
two  large  sales,  customers  would  not  place  advance  orders  with  them 
but  would  say  that  they  preferred  to  wait  for  the  auction. 

While  all  these  objections  must  be  well  considered,  yet  a  careful 
analysis  of  them  will  show  that  they  are  largely  unsound,  and  they 
should  not  be  allowed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  a  rational  policy. 

Limitations  of  the  Use  of  the  Auction  Room. 
In  the  employment  of  the  auction  room,  as  an  agency  for  keeping 
the  decks  clear  of  accumulated  stock,  it  must  be  clearly  understood 
that  this  does  not  imply  the  regular  manufacturing  of  goods  to  be 
sold  in  this  manner.  Under  some  circumstances  such  a  policy  might 
possibly  prove  profitable,  but  with  the  conditions  that  usually  prevail 
in  the  silk  trade  it  would  probably  be  a  losing  business.  The  auction- 
ing should  be  distinctly  regarded  as  merely  a  cleaning-up  process, 
which  would  take  place  as  regularly  as  the  seasons  came  around. 

Conditions  Incident  to  a  Successful  Sale. 

To  have  a  sale  successful,  that  is,  to  have  it  yield  the  maximum 
that  the  trade  can  be  made  to  give  for  the  goods  at  the  time,  certain 
conditions  are  essential.  The  quantity  of  goods  offered  must  be  large 
enough  to  attract  the  buyers  from  every  house,  and  the  merchandise 
must  be  sold  without  reserve;  the  date  of  the  sale  must  be  at  a  time 
when  buyers  are  in  the  market  for  goods ;  the  manner  of  putting  up 
the  pieces  into  lots  and  assortments  must  be  such  as  to  facilitate  buy- 
ing ;  the  sale  must  be  well  advertised  and  well  catalogued ;  and,  finally, 
the  auctioning  of  the  goods  must  be  entrusted  to  some  first-class  house 
which  can  sell  them  in  the  best  manner. 

Under  these  conditions  it  may  fairly  be  said  that,  taking  the  sale 
as  a  whole  and  with  all  collateral  circumstances  considered,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  the  prices  got  will  be  better  than  could  be  obtained 
in  any  other  way,  and  often  very  much  better. 

Even  in  the  occasional  instances  where  the  returns  from  sales 
have  been  a  bitter  disappointment,  one  rarely  or  never  finds  a  seller 
who,  two  or  three  months  later,  would  wish  his  goods  back  on  his 
shelves  again  at  the  price  for  which  he  parted  with  them. 


REGARDING  AUCTION  SALES  317 

Quantity  of  Goods  to  be  Marketed. 

The  quantity  of  goods  that  one  would  have  to  prepare  to  auction 
annually  should  be  somewhat  proportionate  to  the  output  of  the  mill. 
Five  per  cent,  of  the  output  might  frequently  cover  it,  fifteen  per  cent, 
certainly  should. 

The  number  of  pieces  that  might  have  to  be  brought  into  a  sale 
to  insure  the  presence  of  a  good  company  would  be  pretty  large. 
Probably  from  seven  thousand  pieces  upwards  would  give  the  best 
results. 

It  would  be  well,  therefore,  for  those  mills  whose  accumulations 
would  not  be  so  great,  to  make  an  arrangement  with  one  or  more 
friendly  competitors  to  combine  in  a  joint  sale,  so  that  it  would  then 
be  of  large  proportions,  the  names  of  the  sellers  being  made  public 
also. 

Advance  Preparation  to  be  Made. 

These  sales  should  be  prepared  for  long  in  advance,  so  that,  by  a 
date  previously  determined  upon,  all  will  be  ready. 

Such  preparation  will  be  the  working  up  into  finished  merchandise 
of  odd  lots  of  dyed  or  other  silks,  at  the  mills,  which  have  been  side- 
tracked for  one  reason  or  another,  or  not  in  the  way  of  any  immediate 
use.  Then  there  will  be  a  few  goods  made  to  piece  out  the  assortment 
of  important  lines  which  may  have  been  broken.  Lastly  there  is  the 
deliberate  making  of  some  new  and  desirable  goods  to  "sweeten"  the 
sale. 

These  goods  should  be  of  some  popular  market  fabric,  made  in 
the  most  desirable  width,  of  a  quality  low  in  cost  but  not  trashy,  and 
should  be  divided  among  as  few  colors  as  possible,  but  all  of  them 
good.  It  would  probably  be  judicious  to  make  them  to  the  extent 
of  perhaps  10  or  15%  of  the  quantity  of  the  goods  to  be  sold.  It  is 
true  that  they  may  not  bring  cost,  though  any  loss  will  likely  be 
small,  but  they  will  help  the  sale  very  much. 

It  is  evident  that  preparations  such  as  are  here  referred  to  must 
be  begun  months  in  advance. 

When  to  Sell,  and  What  to  Sell. 

Suppose,  now,  that  such  dates  as  February  first  in  the  Spring,  and 
September  first  in  the  Autumn,  are  recognized  as  times  when  the 
buyers  for  the  distributing  houses  are  open  for  spot  goods,  then  sales 
to  take  place  on  or  about  such  dates  should  be  determined  upon  and 
prepared  for. 

In  these  clean-ups  it  is  not  intended  to  sell  everything  in  sight. 
Active  lines  of  seasonable  goods  would  not  go  in,  nor  would  advertised 
fabrics  with  protected  prices.  Fancy  goods,  also,  must  be  carefully 
judged,  as,  for  the  sake  of  moving  perhaps  only  a  few  pieces  of  some 


318  REGARDING  AUCTION  SALES 

novelty  that  are  left  over,  it  would  be  injudicious  to  invite  the  breaking 
of  the  prices  in  the  sale  while  customers  had  many  of  the  goods  still 
unsold  on  their  shelves,  and  which,  in  fact,  might  have  just  been 
delivered  to  them. 

It  is  very  necessary  that  the  lots  be  judiciously  made  up,  both  as 
to  assortments  of  colors  and  as  to  the  number  of  pieces  in  the  lots. 

The  sequence  in  which  the  different  lines  of  goods  in  the  sale  are 
to  be  catalogued  requires  careful  consideration. 

All  Buyers  on  the  Same  Footing. 

When  a  large  company  is  gathered  at  an  important  sale  the  indi- 
vidual buyers  find  themselves  at  an  unaccustomed  disadvantage.  Here 
they  cannot  play  one  house  or  one  lot  of  goods  against  another.  Any 
kind  of  finesse  is  out  of  the  question.  They  must  make  up  their  minds 
in  advance  as  to  what  they  want,  what  they  would  like  to  get  them 
for,  and  what  is  the  most  they  will  give,  and  when  the  goods  are  cried 
^they  must  act  in  a  hurry  and  either  pass  them  or  buy  them. 

Relation  of  Prices  to  Values. 

The  excitement  of  the  sale  will  also  frequently  cause  buyers  to  pay 
distinctly  more  than  they  would  have  done  at  private  sale  and  in  their 
cooler  moments.  The  prices  realized  at  a  well  conducted  and  well  ar- 
ranged for  sale  are  a  fair  measure  of  the  real  value  of  the  goods  at 
the  time.  Here  and  there  a  line  will  sell  much  too  low,  or  perhaps  too 
high,  owing  to  some  whim  of  the  moment,  but  it  is  the  average  figure 
obtained  that  must  be  considered. 

If  prices  are  very  bad,  it  will  generally  foreshadow  a  heavy  fall 
in  market  values,  so  that  the  bad  price  of  to-day  may  be  a  good  price 
six  weeks  later.  Sometimes  very  handsome  figures  are  realized,  and 
comparisons  of  sales,  averaged  over  a  period,  will  usually  leave  little 
to  complain  of. 

Terms  of  Sale. 

The  cost  of  selling  must  not  be  overlooked.  The  regular  auction 
rate  for  silks  sold  on  a  credit  of  four  months,  the  auctioneer  carrying 
the  credit  risks,  is  8%,  and  the  customer  gets  the  full  amount  of  the 
sum  realized  by  the  sale,  less  this  8%,  in  ten  days  or  sooner. 

For  large  sales,  special  selling  rates  may  be  arranged  with  the 
auctioneers,  and  these  rates  will  depend  on  the  size  of  the  sale,  the 
character  and  condition  of  the  goods,  the  condition  of  business,  the 
state  of  the  money  market,  and  other  considerations. 

When  goods  are  sold  at  private  sale  the  customer  gets  7%  off,  or 
more,  and  then  there  is  the  entire  sales  expense  to  come  off.  Auction 
figures  are  therefore  much  better  than  the  corresponding  prices  for 
regular  sales,  a  fact  which  is  very  often  overlooked. 


REGARDING  AUCTION  SALES  319 

Clean  Stocks  and  Profit  Making. 

Apart  from  any  question  of  profit  or  loss  on  the  goods  disposed 
of  under  the  hammer  as  here  described,  it  is  obvious  that  the  concerns 
adopting  this  policy  will  always  have  clean  stocks  at  mills  and  at  sales 
offices;  that  what  goods  they  have  will  be  fresh,  new,  and  attractive, 
and  that  the  efforts  of  the  entire  staff  can  always  be  concentrated  on 
the  live  present  and  not  be  tied  to  the  dead  past. 

Any  profits  that  are  to  be  had  must  be  got  from  new  goods  and 
not  from  old,  and  a  policy  which  automatically  eliminates  old  goods 
from  the  stock,  with  a  minimum  of  loss,  is  a  sound  one. 


XXIX 

FINDING   FOREIGN    MARKETS    FOR   SILKS. 


In  view  of  the  fact  that  it  seems  to  be  absolutely  necessary  to  have 
a  very  considerable  tariff  protection,  to  enable  us  to  meet  the  compe- 
tition of  foreign  silks  in  our  home  markets,  it  may  sound  chimerical 
to  suggest  the  possibility  of  working  up  an  export  trade  in  such  goods, 
and  competing  on  even  terms  with  European  made  fabrics.  Neverthe- 
less, this  matter  is  one  that  has  been  engaging  the  serious  thought  of 
many  far  seeing  men,  and  when  we  see  what  has  been  done  in  the 
cotton  cloth  trade  it  does  not  seem  to  be  quite  such  an  impossible 
matter. 

Exports  of  Cotton  to  Asia. 

The  export  of  plain  cotton  fabrics  to  China,  and  elsewhere,  has 
reached  really  large  proportions,  not  a  few  mills  running  exclusively 
for  this  trade,  and  the  business  has  been  secured  in  spite  of  the  compe- 
tition of  goods  made  in  England,  Germany  and  elsewhere,  where  wages 
are  much  lower. 

Necessity  of  Wide  and  Accurate  Information. 

It  is  much  to  be  desired  that  a  large  body  of  accurate  information 
and  statistics  should  be  secured,  which  would  throw  light  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  possibilities  of  an  export  trade  in  silks. 

The  really  important  questions,  of  course,  are  whether  there  is  a 
market  of  reasonable  size  in  this  or  that  country,  what  kinds  of  goods 
are  required,  and  whether  we  can  make  any  or  all  of  such  goods  in 
an  open  competition  with  other  countries. 

The  information  to  be  gathered  should  be  of  the  fullest  and  most 
accurate  character,  and  it  should  be  got  by  persons  thoroughly  famil- 
iar with  both  the  producing  and  distributing  ends  of  the  silk  business, 
if  it  is  to  be  of  real  service.  Its  value  would  be  as  great,  or  greater, 


FINDING  FOREIGN  MARKETS  321 

if  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  would  show  that  certain  lines  of  mer- 
chandise could  not  be  exported  profitably,  as  when  it  would  point  out 
paths  of  prospective  profit. 

Markets  With  Which  Business  Might  be  Done. 

Among  the  countries  with  which  the  working  up  of  an  export 
trade  might  be  considered,  would  be  Canada,  Mexico,  most  of  the 
South  American  states,  South  Africa,  Australia  and  New  Zealand, 
India,  China,  etc.  Possibly,  also,  some  of  the  European  countries 
might  be  reached,  and  the  great  English  market,  where  goods  enter 
duty  free,  should  be  especially  considered.  China,  though  a  silk  pro- 
ducing country,  imports  more  or  less  silk  merchandise  from  Europe. 

No  two  of  these  countries  will  be  found  to  do  their  business  just 
alike,  and  the  conditions  to  be  met  with  in  each  one  will  require  a 
special  study. 

Conditions  Which  Must  be  Inquired  Into. 

How  many  yards  of  different  kinds  of  silk,  per  annum,  and  of 
what  value,  does  each  country  import,  and  what  is  the  extent  of  its 
home  manufacture,  if  any?  How  are  the  goods  bought  and  sold? 
Do  commercial  travelers  have  to  visit  each  town  to  get  the  orders, 
and  at  what  times  of  the  year  is  the  buying  done?  Do  jobbing  houses 
distribute  the  goods  or  do  manufacturers'  agents,  or  importers,  sell 
direct  to  the  retailers?  Are  firm  orders  taken  from  samples,  or  is 
it  necessary  to  send  out,  on  consignment,  stocks  of  merchandise,  and 
sell  goods  from  stock? 

Then  there  are  the  questions  regarding  the  fiscal  aspects  of  the 
business.  Is  it  necessary  to  do  business  on  time  credits,  and  for  how 
long?  How  is  the  credit  of  the  merchants  to  be  ascertained?  Are 
time  accounts  left  open,  or  are  they  closed  by  note  payments?  What 
facilities  will  the  bankers  on  the  ground  afford  for  financing  the  busi- 
ness ?  How  are  collections  made,  and  what  percentage  of  loss  by  bad 
debts  may  reasonably  be  looked  for? 

The  political  and  financial  stability  of  the  country  must  be  reck- 
oned with  in  considering  the  risks  of  the  business. 

Then,  it  is  of  interest  to  know  just  about  what  is  the  lowest  per- 
centage of  profit  that  the  European  shipper  is  willing  to  do  the  busi- 
ness on,  and  to  consider  how  that  will  affect  prices,  and  if  we  would 
be  satisfied  with  the  same  profit  or  not. 

We  should  also  know  what  margins  of  profit  the  importers,  job- 
bers, and  retailers  customarily  expect,  and  what  are  the  ordinary  retail 
prices  that  the  consumers  look  for  on  the  different  goods  that  they 
buy. 

Full  information  should  be  had  regarding  the  custom-house  duties 
in  each  place,  and  as  to  the  nature  and  amounts  of  any  other  imposts 
or  taxes  that  would  fall  upon  the  goods,  as  well  as  the  amount  of 
ordinary  costs  and  charges  that  would  have  to  be  met  when  import- 


322  FINDING  FOREIGN  MARKETS 

ing  merchandise.     Data  regarding  preferential  tariffs  should  also  be 
got. 

The  question  of  transportation  facilities  is  not  a  light  one.  It  is 
of  material  importance  that  freight  should  be  transported  cheaply, 
regularly,  safely,  and  quickly.  Deficiencies  in  this  regard  constitute 
a  considerable  handicap. 

Special  Requirements  of  Trade. 

Again,  the  manner  in  which  goods  should  be  put  up  and  shipped 
is  of  vital  interest.  Every  locality  has  its  own  requirements,  its  own 
customs,  and  its  own  prejudices.  None  of  them  must  be  disregarded, 
for  often  the  merest  apparent  trifle,  left  unconsidered,  may  entail  fail- 
ure. 

As  an  example,  it  may  be  stated  that  in  some  of  the  mountainous 
states  of  South  America,  Peru  for  instance,  much  of  the  merchandise 
for  villages  and  towns  in  the  interior  has  to  be  transported  on  pack 
mules.  These  mules  will  carry  panniers  of  a  standard  size,  and  which, 
when  filled,  constitute  an  average  load. 

For  such  transportation  it  is  obligatory  that  pieces  of  goods 
should  be,  say,  double-folded,  and  of  a  length,  width,  and  weight  that 
will  not  exceed  certain  limitations,  or  otherwise  they  could  not  be 
conveniently  packed.  If,  therefore,  the  maximum  length  of  the 
wrapped  up  pieces  should  not  be  in  excess  of,  say,  20  inches,  and 
that  goods  of  38,  and  40  inches,  double  folded,  were  being  used  by 
this  trade,  it  would  follow  that  a  manufacturer  sending  out  goods  42 
or  44  inches  wide,  even  when  double  folded,  would  find  himself  en- 
tirely out  of  the  game. 

American  Manufacturers  Neglect  Important  Details. 
American  manufacturers  are  notorious  as  paying  scant  heed  to 
these  local  conditions,  and  for  sending  goods  abroad  for  sale  of  a 
width,  weight  and  character  that  may  be  quite  unsuitable,  simply  be- 
cause they  do  not  go  to  the  pains  and  expense  necessary  to  properly 
inform  themselves,  and  thus,  with  really  better  values,  they  find  them- 
selves often  quite  out  of  the  market. 

The  widths  of  goods,  the  thicknesses,  weights,  and  weaves  that 
are  suitable  for  the  climate  and  conditions,  the  colorings,  the  lengths 
of  the  pieces,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  put  up,  are  matters 
of  prime  moment,  as  are  also  the  brands  and  the  tickets. 

Precautions  to  be  Observed  in  the  Packing  of  Goods. 

Goods  must  arrive  at  their  ultimate  destination  in  good  condition 
and  with  unblemished  appearance.  In  the  ship  there  is  the  chance  of 
damage  from  sea  water,  and  when  goods  have  been  discharged  at 
their  port  of  debarkation  the  cases  may,  perhaps,  be  left  lying  ex- 
posed to  the  tropical  sun  and  rains,  and  they  may  also  be  handled  in 
the  roughest  and  most  careless  way. 


FINDING  FOREIGN  MARKETS  323 

It  is  therefore  necessary  that  individual  pieces  of  goods  be  ex- 
tremely well  wrapped;  that  cases  be  thoroughly  well  lined  with  wa- 
terproof material;  that  the  cases  be  made  of  a  size  and  weight  not 
too  large  for  convenient  handling  ;•  and  that  they  be  stout  and  well 
made,  and  well  hooped  or  strapped. 

The  lids  of  cases  should  be,  preferably,  screwed  on,  so  that,  when 
opened  for  inspection  in  the  foreign  custom  house,  they  will  not  be 
wrecked  or  damaged  by  careless  workmen.  The  names  and  addresses, 
or  other  markings,  on  the  cases  should  be  stenciled  on  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country  to  which  they  are  going,  and  the  side  that  is  to 
be  opened — that  is,  the  top — should  be  so  marked. 

Collection  of  Full  Information  a  Formidable  Task. 
When  it  is  considered  that  all  such  information  as  has  been  out- 
lined should  be  collected  for  each  of  the  regions  that  we  might  wish 
to  trade  with,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  a  formidable  task,  and  the 
question  will  naturally  be  raised  as  to  whether  the  game  is  worth  the 
candle. 

Overproduction  and  the  Home  Market. 

We,  practically,  have  our  home  market  to  ourselves  at  present, 
but  we  have  only  it.  If  manufacturers  install  productive  machinery 
at  a  greater  pace  than  our  normal  increase  of  consumption  will  take 
care  of — and  they  generally  do — this  surplus  production,  or  potential 
production,  hangs  like  a  weight  over  the  market,  and  at  the  best  of 
times  compels  the  manufacturer  to  accept  business  on  the  most  meagre 
basis  of  profit,  while,  at  other  times,  the  slaughtering  of  goods  de- 
moralizes prices  everywhere,  and,  perhaps  for  seasons  together,  com- 
pels the  whole  trade  to  run  at  a  loss  or  without  profit. 

A  reasonable  foreign  outlet  would  do  much  to  mitigate  this  state 
of  affairs,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  some  initial  movement 
in  this  direction  should  be  made. 

Going  After  Business  in  a  Businesslike  Way. 

Foreigners,  when  going  after  trade  abroad,  usually  send  out  a 
responsible  and  able  man  to  take  charge  of  the  business,  and  who 
takes  up  his  residence  in  the  place.  Living  there,  he  is,  of  course, 
in  the  best  possible  position  to  give  proper  advice  to  his  home  con- 
cern, and  a  business,  so  undertaken,  is  patiently  and  intelligently 
nursed  till  it  begins  to  pay. 

When  it  is  not  possible  to  have  one's  own  man  continuously  on  the 
ground,  good  introductions  should  be  got  to  the  best  houses  doing  an 
import  trade  in  the  locality,  and  suitable  arrangements  made  with  one 
of  them.  In  such  cases,  the  standing  and  reputation  of  the  local  house 
means  everything. 


324  FINDING  FOREIGN  MARKETS 

Evils  of  Intermittent  Efforts. 

American  manufacturers  are  much  criticized  by  foreign  agents  for 
the  intermittent  way  in  which  they  do  things.  Trade  here  will  be  bad, 
and  a  manufacturer  will  look  for  trade  abroad,  get  a  good  agent,  make 
the  necessary  samples  and  send  out  some  goods.  After  a  year  or  two 
of  effort,  a  nice  trade  is  being  established,  and  the  agent  looks  forward 
to  doing  a  really  large  business  in  the  near  future.  Then  comes  a  very 
active  demand  for  goods  here,  the  mill  can  sell  more  than  it  can  make, 
and  at  a  better  profit  here  than  abroad,  and,  the  first  thing  that  the 
foreign  agent  knows,  he  can  get  no  goods  for  his  trade.  That  trade, 
being  unsupplied  with  goods  from  here,  buys  elsewhere,  and  the  foreign 
made  goods  again  hold  the  field.  Then,  when  more  export  business  is 
wanted  by  the  mill,  the  whole  work  has  to  be  done  over  again. 

Manufacturers,  therefore,  who  wish  to  exploit  the  foreign  markets, 
must  be  prepared  to  furnish  their  agents  there  with  such  reasonable 
quantities  of  goods  as  they  can  sell,  even  if  a  temporarily  larger  profit 
might  be  made  by  selling  them  at  home. 

Conditions  Which  Affect  Our  Ability  to  Compete. 

What  position,  now,  are  we  in  to  compete  with  other  nations  in 
exporting  silks? 

Of  course,  the  cost  of  labor  varies  everywhere,  and  in  America  just 
as  it  does  in  Europe.  Some  silk  producing  centres  pay  higher  wages 
than  do  others,  but  still  there  may  be  compensations  in  other  directions. 
We  need  not  therefore  necessarily  assume  that  it  is  the  cheapest  labor 
centre  that  would  do  the  exporting,  either  here  or  abroad. 

Raw-silk  costs  practically  the  same  everywhere.  Europe  has  lower 
cost  mill  labor,  lower  salaries,  lower  interest,  less  depreciation  (as  ma- 
chinery costs  less),  and  lower  cost  of  throwing.  Skein  dyeing  is 
dearer  there,  piece  dyeing  in  many  cases  is  cheaper,  while  printing 
will  vary.  Coal  is  cheaper  here,  and,  as  to  supplies,  some  cost  more — 
others  less. 

In  those  articles  into  which  labor  enters  most  largely  we  are  visibly 
outclassed,  and  particularly  so  in  those  directions  where  the  business 
is  made  up  of  small  quantities  of  each  of  a  large  number  of  different 
fancy  patterns. 

Plain  Goods  the  Most  Promising. 

With  plain  goods,  made  on  a  very  large  scale,  the  unit  of  labor  cost 
is  much  decreased.  Where  a  mill  is  running  many  hundreds  of  looms 
on  the  same  fabric — three  or  four  looms  to  the  weaver,  and  at  high 
speeds — both  the  weaving  cost  and  the  general  expense  item  fall  to  a 
really  low  figure,  and  it  is  in  these  directions  that  we  must  look. 

There  are  many  fabrics  such  as  liberty  satins,  cotton-back  satins, 
crepes  de  chine,  taffetas,  etc.,  etc.,  that  have  been  so  specialized  on  here 
as  to  encourage  the  belief  that  their  cost  is  so  low  that  an  export  busi- 


FINDING  FOREIGN  MARKETS  325 

ness  might  be  done  on  them,  but,  first  of  all,  exact  information  about 
the  foreign  conditions  must  be  had. 

The  First  Steps  to  Take. 

If  the  Silk  Association  of  America,  or  some  other  representative 
body,  should  draw  the  attention  of  the  Government  to  the  importance 
of  this  matter,  no  doubt  steps  would  be  taken  to  secure,  through  the 
medium  of  the  Consular  Service,  much  preliminary  data  along  the 
lines  required. 

This  would  indicate  what  fields  seemed  the  most  promising,  and 
then  arrangements  might  be  made  to  send  a  specially  qualified  repre- 
sentative to  such  places  to  procure  the  fullest  information  possible. 

With  this  to  work  on,  manufacturers  here  would  be  able  to  direct 
their  efforts  intelligently  when  seeking  to  find  an  outlet  abroad  for  their 
goods. 


XXX 

COTTON    MILL   COMPETITION. 


For  several  years  past,  silk  manufacturers  have  been  aware  of  an 
adverse  undercurrent  due  to  the  invasion  of  their  field  by  cotton  mills 
which  had  ventured  out  into  the  realms  of  silk.  Occasionally,  some 
special  circumstance  has  brought  the  serious  nature  of  this  competition 
sharply  to  their  notice,  but  many  manufacturers  do  not  realize  its  ex- 
tent or  importance. 

It  is,  however,  one  of  the  great  causes  that  underlie  the  chronic 
state  of  insufficient  business  that  many  mills  have  had  cause  to  com- 
plain of  during  recent  years. 

Immense  Scope  of  the  Competition. 

To  show  the  importance  of  this  conflicting  element,  it  may  be  stated 
that  at  this  writing,  (February,  1913),  some  eighteen  mills,  nearly  all 
of  them  in  the  New  England  States,  are  recorded  as  operating  on  cot- 
ton and  silk  fabrics,  and  that  these  mills  represent  a  total  of  42,000 
looms. 

It  is  true  that  many  of  the  looms  in  certain  of  these  mills  run  regu- 
larly on  all-cotton  fabrics,  and  that  others  are  at  times  employed  on 
all-cotton  goods,  and  at  other  times  on  silk-mixed  goods,  according  to 
the  state  of  the  trade. 

A  careful  consideration  of  the  status  of  the  different  mills  in  this 
respect  would  lead  one  to  believe  that,  as*  constant  or  as  potential  pro- 
ducers of  silk  goods,  one-half  of  these  looms  are  constantly  in  the  field 
competing  for  business  in  silk-mixed  fabrics.  These  figures,  more- 
over, do  not  include  those  mills  specializing  on  grege  warp,  cotton- 
back  satins,  as  these  goods  are  more  nearly  a  silk-mill  product  than 
that  of  a  cotton  mill. 

These  cotton  mills  run  their  looms  far  faster  than  do  the  silk  mills, 


COTTON  MILL  COMPETITION  327 

the  average  speed  being  probably  between  152  picks  and  172  picks  a 
minute.    Let  us  assume  an  average  of  160  picks. 

What  the  Annual  Production  May  Amount  to. 

From  the  fact  that  the  cotton-mill  organization,  owing  to  the  staple 
nature  of  the  goods  produced  and  the  continuity  of  operation,  has 
achieved  a  much  higher  actual  production,  compared  with  the  theoreti- 
cal, than  what  the  usual  silk-mill  organization  has  been  able  to  effect, 
it  has  followed  that  a  similar  large  production  has  been  found  pos- 
sible in  silk-filled  goods  also,  particularly  as  they  are  nearly  always 
woven  in  the  grey. 

A  conservative  estimate  of  the  production  might  therefore  be  stated 
as  being  about  80%  of  the  theoretical. 

If  the  running  hours  averaged  58  per  week,  there  would  be  pro- 
duced on  this  basis,  with  100  picks  to  the  inch,  a  weekly  output  of 
about  124  yards,  or  about  6,300  yards  for  a  year  of  51  weeks,  an  out- 
turn probably  20%  or  more  in  excess  of  what  a  silk  mill,  making  the 
same  goods,  could  accomplish,  per  loom. 

This  would  give  the  21,000  competing  looms  an  effectiveness,  meas- 
ured by  silk  standards,  of  25,200  looms,  and  would  give  a  potential  out- 
put of  about  159,000,000  yards  a  year,  or  nearly  2,650,000  pieces  of  60 
yards  each. 

As  the  regular  broad  silk  looms  in  the  country  are  at  present 
figured  at  about  75,000,  the  effect  of  this  outside  competition  is  to 
throw  on  the  market,  if  all  these  cotton-mill  looms  were  running  full, 
a  volume  of  part-silk  merchandise  which,  if  made  in  the  silk  mills, 
would  employ  about  one-third  of  the  entire  silk  loomage  of  the  country. 

Some  of  the  cotton  mills  have  run  looms,  on  some  of  these  fabrics, 
night  and  day,  with  double  shifts,  thus  further  cheapening  their  cost, 
and  increasing  the  yardage  produced. 

How  the  Low-grade  Silks  Have  Been  Displaced. 

The  cheap  end  of  the  silk  trade  has  been  hit  the  hardest.  What  de- 
mand is  there  to-day,  compared  with  a  few  years  past,  for  narrow 
width,  heavily-weighted  silks,  either  plain  or  fancy,  fast-edge  or  split- 
edge?  Low-grade  crepes,  cheap  foulards,  cheap  Shantungs  and  a 
number  of  other  lines  have  equally  suffered.  The  business  has  largely 
gone,  and  much  of  what  remains  is  going  fast. 

It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  all  of  these  cotton-mill  goods 
do  not  necessarily  displace  silks.  Some  of  them  displace  cottons,  and 
others  probably  create  a  market  of  their  own,  but  all  of  them  have  a 
profound  effect  on  the  prices  of  low  quality  silks,  on  account  of  the 
immensely  greater  values  given. 

What  chance  has  a  silk  mill  to  compete  with  24-inch,  light- 
weight, cotton-warp,  silk-filled,  reed  ombre  stripes,  sold  in  the  grey  at 
9  cents  a  yard,  terms,  10  days  net,  or  with  26-inch  cotton-warp,  tus- 


328  COTTON  MILL  COMPETITION 

sah-filled  Shantungs,  of  good  heavy  quality,  and  delivered,  boiled-off 
and  finished,  at  21  cents  regular. 

Wide  Variety  of  Attractive  Goods  Made. 

The  variety  of  goods  now  made  by  these  cotton  mills  is  surprising. 
Marquisettes,  aeoliennes,  foulards,  Shantungs,  surahs,  stripes,  bro- 
cades, crepes  and  a  host  of  others.  These  are  dyed  in  solid  colors, 
cross-dyed  for  glaces,  printed  and  treated  in  a  variety  of  ways. 

Fast  blacks  or  fast  colors,  of  cotton,  may  be  used  for  stripings  in 
warps,  so  that  they  will  stand  dyeing  in  the  piece,  and  very  attractive 
striped  fancies  can  thus  be  made. 

How  the  Production  is  Marketed. 

Some  houses  in  this  trade  prepare  and  market  their  entire  product 
themselves,  or  through  their  regular  selling  agents.  Others  sell  only 
in  the  grey,  and  to  all  comers,  doing  much  business  through  brokers, 
and  dealing  principally  with  those  houses  that  make  a  specialty  of  con- 
verting. This  trade  is  done  on  a  basis  of  cash,  ten  days,  and  for  that 
reason  appeals  strongly  to  the  manufacturer. 

These  converters,  however,  are  keen  traders  and  generally  hammer 
the  manufacturer's  prices  down  to  a  point  where  his  profit  is  merely  a 
brokerage,  and  then,  by  clever  dyeing,  printing  and  finishing  of  the 
goods,  they  are  able  to  sell  them  at  what  appear  to  be  very  low  prices, 
but  which  include  an  exceedingly  handsome  profit  for  themselves. 

Some  of  the  houses  dealing  in  these  mixed  fabrics  prepare  their 
lines  of  goods  in  a  manner  deserving  of  the  highest  admiration — beau- 
tiful, novel  and  tasteful  prints,  superb  dyeing — plain  or  cross-dyes — and 
with  a  finish  on  all  that  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  The  goods,  so 
treated,  are  soft,  brilliant  and  silky  in  apearance,  and,  in  weave,  de- 
sign and  color,  they  measure  up  to  the  most  exacting  standards. 

True,  they  are  part  cotton ;  but  they  neither  look  cottony,  nor,  ex- 
cept in  a  quite  minor  degree,  do  they  feel  cottony. 

Average  Range  of  Prices. 

The  average  range  of  prices  for  such  fabrics,  dyed  and  finished, 
will  probably  run  from  about  14  cents  to  25  cents,  regular,  with  some 
special  goods  perhaps  as  high  as  37^  cents.  They  will  mostly  retail 
at  prices  ranging  from  25  to  50  cents  a  yard. 

Usual  Materials  Employed  in  Construction. 

The  makers  of  these  fabrics  use  principally  single  cottons  for 
warps,  while,  for  fillings,  raw,  spun,  or  thrown  silks  are  employed,  the 
goods  being  dyed,  or  printed  in  the  piece. 

Canton  is  a  favorite  silk  on  account  of  its  lustre,  and  is  used  in 
doubled  singles  or  in  two-thread  tram  of  14/16  denier  size,  or  in 
20/22  deniers — or  coarser — used  in  the  single.  Tsatlees  have  been 
largely  used  also,  on  account  of  whiteness,  nerve  and  brilliancy,  but 


COTTON  MILL  COMPETITION  329 

they  are  somewhat  neglected  now  because  of  their  extreme  irregularity. 
The  cheaper  grades  of  yellow  Europeans  find  some  sale  for  filling 
purposes,  while  tussah  silks — raw  or  in  tram,  tussah  spun-silks,  and 
the  lower  grades  of  Japans  are  freely  used  as  occasion  requires. 

Conditions  Attaching  to  Sales  of  Silk  and  Cotton  Mixtures. 

The  following  details  of  how  this  business  is  done  may  be  of 
interest. 

Contracts  are  largely  placed  for  these  goods  in  the  grey  through 
the  medium  of  brokers,  who  get  their  commissions  from  the  mills  for 
whom  they  effect  sales. 

The  general  conditions  of  such  contracts  are  that  the  customer 
must  deliver  his  silk,  properly  wound  on  suitable  shuttle  bobbins  or 
quills,  f.  o.  b.  at  the  railway  station  of  the  town  where  the  mill  is. 
When  woven,  the  weaver  makes  delivery  to  the  railroad,  and  after  that 
his  responsibility  ceases.  Both  the  freight  on  the  filling  and  the  freight 
on  the  goods  is  paid  by  the  buyer. 

If  any  delay  occurs  in  the  delivery  of  the  filling,  and  looms  are 
stopped  in  consequence,  a  charge  is  made  to  cover  the  expense  of  the 
standing  looms,  a  common  figure  being  50  cents  a  day  per  loom. 

A  percentage  of  "tailings"  is  provided  for,  say  10%  in  excess  of 
the  order,  if  made,  so  as  to  allow  for  a  clean-up  of  the  material. 

For  seconds  a  limit  is  also  set,  and  a  customary  amount  to  allow 
is  5%.  The  reduction  in  price  for  these  defective  goods  is,  however, 
very  slight,  often  not  more  than  5%  being  allowed  from  the  price 
charged  for  the  regular  goods. 

Remnants  are  sent  in,  too,  but  on  them  the  allowance,  of  course,  is 
larger  and  33}^%  mav  be  deducted  for  them. 

Times  of  delivery  are  carefully  arranged  for,  and  terms  are  usually 
net  10  days,  and  options  for  additional  quantities  are  often  given. 

It  is  considered  desirable  to  have  the  goods  woven  in  double  cuts — 
no  to  120  yards — as  it  enables  the  purchasers  to  cut  them  into  either 
40-  or  6o-yard  lengths  as  may  be  needed. 

Yarns  Used  and  Usual  Widths  of  Goods. 

The  yarns  used  for  warps  are  generally  1/40  or  1/60  combed 
peeler  cotton,  and  may  run  from,  say,  72  to  100  ends  per  inch. 

The  filling,  be  it  Canton,  tsatlee,  tussah,  or  what  not,  may  run 
from,  say,  68  to  100  picks  per  inch. 

Customary  widths  are  23  to  24  inch,  26  to  27  inch,  and  wider 
widths  also,  as  36,  42,  or  even  46  inch. 

What  the  Cotton  Mill  Provides. 

The  weaving  concern  provides  the  warp  yarn  and  the  entire  mill 
labor,  with  all  of  the  attendant  expenses. 


330  COTTON  MILL  COMPETITION 

Prices  at  Which  the  Mills  Make  Sales. 

The  prices  charged  by  these  cotton  mills  for  their  fabrics  look 
startlingly  low  to  silk  weavers. 

With  the  price  of  "middling"  cotton  ruling  at  about  II  cents  a 
pound,  such  figures  as  the  following  might  be  expected. 

Plain  goods  of  fine  construction,  in  widths  of  23  to  24  inches,  about 
4J/2  cents.  Dobby  figured  goods,  of  coarser  construction,  about  5 
cents,  and  Jacquards  about  5^  cents.  Dobby  figured  goods,  of  fine 
construction,  about  6  cents,  and  Jacquards  about  6y2  cents. 

Small  differences  are  allowed  for  variation  in  picks,  ends,  and 
widths,  and  fancy  stripings  in  the  warp  can  be  had  at  a  most  trifling 
additional  charge. 

Thus,  instead  of  a  coarser  23-  to  24-inch  Jacquard  cloth  at  5J^ 
cents,  one  in  26  inches  might  be  had,  made  from  i/6o's  cotton,  and 
with  96  ends  per  inch,  and  96  picks  per  inch,  at  6fy  cents,  while  the 
same  cloth  in  28  inch  would  be  furnished  at  7  cents. 

Competition  Among  the  Weavers. 

These  low  prices  are  doubtless  accentuated  by  stress  of  competition 
among  the  cotton  mills  bidding  for  this  business,  and  must  leave  little 
enough  of  profit  for  them,  but  the  slightest  consideration  of  them  will 
serve  to  show  the  impossibility  of  silk  manufacturers  attempting  to 
compete  in  this  line  of  work. 

Prices  Charged  to  Distributers. 

Such  fabrics,  with  fillings  of  unthrown  Cantons  or  tussahs,  after 
being  dyed  and  finished,  or  printed,  will  sell  to  the  distributers  at 
prices  averaging  between  15  and  25  cents  a  yard,  regular. 

Silk  Filling  Provided  by  the  Converters. 

The  actual  weight,  and  cost,  of  the  silk  used  per  yard  in  many 
of  these  fabrics  is,  and  must  be,  very  trifling,  yet  it  shows  up  wonder- 
fully in  the  goods  when  finished. 

A  large  amount  of  the  business  done  by  the  cotton  mills  is  based 
upon  the  requirement  that  the  buyers  provide  the  silk  filling  on  suit- 
able quills  or  bobbins  for  their  shuttles,  so  that  they  have  nothing  to 
do  with  it  but  to  weave  it  in  as  they  would  cotton. 

Troubles  Entailed  by  the  Procedure. 

This  method  of  having  the  silk  for  filling  supplied  by  the  buyers 
leads  at  times  to  friction  between  them  and  the  mills  on  the  question 
of  whether  the  right  quantity  of  goods  has  been  produced  from  it  or 
not. 

The  weavers  may  make  undue  waste,  or  silk  may  be  stolen  or  lost 
while  in  their  possession,  or  they  may  put  more  picks  in  the  goods 
than  what  were  ordered,  by  mistake. 


COTTON  MILL  COMPETITION  331 

On  the  other  hand,  the  silk  may  be  coarser  than  the  buyers  thought 
it  was,  or  excessive  waste  (covered  up  by  the  free  use  of  soap  and  oil) 
may  have  been  made  by  the  concerns  which  wound  and  quilled  it,  or 
some  of  it  may  have  been  lost  or  stolen  while  in  their  possession,  or, 
in  some  rare  instances,  perhaps  stolen  by  themselves. 

If  these  differences  run  into  large  figures,  very  serious  trouble 
between  the  parties  may  arise. 

Another  Way  of  Handling  the  Matter. 

Some  of  the  mills,  therefore,  insist  on  handling  the  silk  part  of  it 
themselves.  They  will  furnish  any  kind  of  silk  for  filling  that  their 
clients  desire,  and  as  they  can  buy  it  as  cheaply,  or  cheaper,  and  are  in 
a  much  better  position  to  get  it  manipulated  with  a  minimum  of  wast- 
age and  expense,  they  find  it  more  profitable  and  less  troublesome  to 
avoid  the  complication  of  a  divided  interest  in  the  ownership  of  the 
raw  material  entering  into  the  goods. 

Silk-warp  Goods  Made  in  Cotton  Mills. 

Some  silk-warp  goods,  with  cotton  fillings,  are  occasionally  made 
by  these  cotton  mills. 

For  instance,  four  looms  will  be  run  by  one  weaver  on  a  24-inch 
Jacquard  foulard,  the  ground  being  a  well-covered  eight-shaft  satin, 
and  the  filling  a  fine  mercerized  cotton. 

These  goods,  beautifully  printed,  and  having  a  splendid  appearance 
and  touch,  may  sell  for  37^  cents,  regular,  and  one  house  handling 
them  distributed  over  100,000  pieces  in  one  season. 

All-silk  goods  of  similar  character,  made  in  a  silk  mill,  would  hardly 
find  the  retail  counter  at  less  than  $1.00  a  yard,  while  these  could 
retail  at  50  cents.  No  wonder  that  it  is  found  hard  to  move  foulards, 
when  a  slump  comes,  except  at  prices  that  would  enable  them  to  be 
sold  in  competition  with  these. 

Mill  Conditions. 

In  cotton  mills  there  will  be  usually  run  eight  looms  to  the  weaver 
on  cotton  warps,  and  they  will  be  run  at  high  speeds.  Their  winding 
and  warping  arrangements  are  such  that  very  low  unit  costs  are  obtain- 
able. Owing  to  their  large  and  steady  output  the  general  expenses  are 
also  low. 

The  dyeing  and  printing  are  done  by  the  silk  dyers  usually,  and 
must  be  paid  for  at  silk  rates,  but  the  immense  lots  of  each  fabric 
processed  enables  substantial  concessions  in  prices  to  be  often  obtained. 

Wages  in  the  Cotton  Mills. 

Cotton  weavers,  on  the  other  hand,  demand  higher  weekly  wages 
than  silk  workers  do.  A  minimum  of  $12.00  a  week,  and  from  that 
up  to  $16.00  is  largely  expected.  Some  other  branches  of  labor  are 
also  more  highly  paid  in  cotton  mills  than  in  silk  mills. 


332  COTTON  MILL  COMPETITION 

Where  the  Silk  Mill  Has  the  Advantage. 

It  is  this  higher  weekly  wage  that  makes  cotton  mills  unable  to 
compete  with  silk  mills  in  making  skein-dyed  goods.  On  such  cloths 
the  cotton  weavers  cannot,  or  will  not,  operate  more  than  two  looms 
each.  They  do  not  understand  well  how  to  make  silk  knots  and  pro- 
duction suffers,  and  methods  of  warping  are  materially  different.  The 
fineness  of  the  silk  thread  is  ^  also  a  serious  trouble  to  the  cotton 
operative. 

In  the  skein-dyed  field  of  silk,  the  cotton  mill  is  not  a  competitor 
except  as  it  displaces  trashy,  over-weighted  goods,  by  cotton-mixed 
stuffs. 

Merit  of  the  Cotton-warp  Fabrics. 

This  competition  from  the  cotton  mills,  distressing  as  it  is,  must  be 
fairly  faced  and  properly  judged.  In  its  last  analysis  it  is  right, 
logical  and  beneficial  for  the  public.  The  goods  so  produced  are  sound, 
honest  merchandise,  with  excellent  appearance,  and  relatively  very  low 
in  price,  ^and  so  far  as  durability  and  wearing  qualities  are  concerned 
they  are  infinitely  superior  to  the  over-weighted  trash  that  they  have 
displaced. 

As  one  of  the  most  prominent  market  handlers  of  these  cotton  mill 
products  stated,  in  substance,  to  the  writer,  "The  low  end  of  the  silk 
manufacturing  business  is  gone  from  the  regular  silk  mills  forever,  and 
the  sooner  they  awaken  up  to  the  fact  the  better  for  them." 

Cotton  Mills  Also  Have  Their  Troubles. 

The  cotton-and-silk  goods  producers  have  troubles  of  their  own.  So 
long  as  they  were  taking  business  away  from  silk  mills,  and  there  was 
plenty  of  it  to  go  round,  it  was  profitable  and  the  sailing  was  smooth. 

When,  however,  the  amount  of  the  trade  that  could  be  got  away 
from  the  silk  manufacturers  was  getting  near  to  its  limit,  and  when, 
at  the  same  time,  there  was  a  great  increase  in  the  cotton-and-silk  loom- 
age,  trouble  began  to  appear.  Goods  would  no  longer  sell  themselves 
and  the  buyers — principally  converters — play  the  producers  of  gray 
goods  against  each  other  till  they  can  hardly  find  any  profit  in  their 
transactions. 

The  Clever  Man  Can  Always  Find  a  Profit. 
Here,  as  ever,  those  handlers  or  converters  who  have  taste,  ex- 
perience and  commercial  courage,  by  means  of  cleverly  got  up  patterns, 
colors  and  styles,  and  suitable  perparation  of  goods  for  the  trade,  will 
continue  to  dp  a  good  business  at  a  handsome  profit,  while  others  will 
not  know  which  way  to  turn. 

Lost  Business  that  can  Never  be  Regained. 

What,  now,  can  the  silk  manufacturers  do  to  regain  this  lost  trade  ? 
Practically  nothing.  To  try  to  place  cotton  looms  and  cotton  weavers 


COTTON  MILL  COMPETITION  333 

in  their  silk  mills  would  disorganize  both  branches.  They  might  start 
mills  of  their  own,  in  the  East,  but  these  would  be  new  mills,  requiring 
their  own  organizations  and  capital,  and  would  have  strong  competi- 
tion to  meet,  and,  as  newcomers  in  the  trade,  much  expensive  experi- 
ence would  have  to  be  gone  through  with,  and,  anyway,  it  would  not 
help,  but  would  only  make  harder  the  running  of  the  standing  silk 
mill  looms. 

There  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  say  good-by  to  the  lost  trade  and  face 
about  in  the  direction  of  better  goods,  goods  that  are  really  silks  and 
not  shams,  and  to  try  not  to  copy  the  ideas  of  one's  neighbors  but  to 
build  up  business  on  original  lines. 


XXXI 

DIRECTING  THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A  TEXTILE  MILL 


A  heavy  responsibility  rests  on  the  shoulders  of  the  man  who  under- 
takes to  determine  what  lines  of  goods  a  textile  mill  should  make.  No 
branch  of  the  work  requires  such  knowledge,  good  judgment,  up-to- 
date  information,  experience,  caution,  honesty  of  purpose,  and  business 
sanity  as  this. 

Knowledge  and  Intuition  Both  Needed. 

To  have  the  gift  of  prophecy  can  hardly  be  expected  of  man,  and 
yet  this  gift,  or  something  akin  to  it,  seems  to  be  necessary  if  one  is 
to  be  a  successful  sales  agent. 

The  knowledge,  care,  and  keen  observation  that  some  agents  bring 
to  the  work  enables  them  to  guide  their  course  so  well  that  it  seems 
almost  as  if  they  were  endowed  with  a  special  intuition,  but  this  insight 
into  the  market  requirements  is  really  the  result  of  unremitting  pa- 
tience, observation,  inquiry  and  work. 

Very  Few  Who  Measure  Up  to  the  Situation. 

Unfortunately,  there  are  few,  very  few,  who  reach  or  ever  could 
reach  the  standard  demanded  by  such  an  exacting  position,  whether 
the  fault  lies  in  their  lack  of  proper  training,  their  mental  limitations, 
or  in  an  indolence  of  mind  that  leads  them  to  guess  at  things,  and, 
generally,  to  allow  their  decisions  to  be  largely  governed  by  chance. 

The  result  is  that,  as  these  properly-trained  and  highly-qualified  men 
are  so  scarce  in  number,  it  follows  that  but  few  mills  enjoy  the  advan- 
tage of  such  direction,  and  the  great  majority  of  manufacturers  are 
compelled  to  place  their  interests  in  the  hands  of  representatives  who 
are  at  the  best  but  fairly  good  and  are  too  often  hopelessly  incompetent. 

How  to  get  the  right  man  is  the  problem,  and  season  after  season 


DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A  MILL         335 

a  manufacturer  will  see  his  efforts  thwarted,  much  of  his  machinery 
idle,  his  goods  butchered,  and  his  assets  diminishing.  He  may  change 
representatives  and  may  find  that  he  has  only  gone  from  bad  to  worse, 
and  his  life  becomes  one  of  ever  deferred  hope. 

Requisites  Which  a  Sales  Manager  should  possess. 

To  be  properly  equipped  for  such  a  task,  a  man  should  have  a 
good  working  familiarity  with  the  processes  of  a  mill  and  its  machin- 
ery. This  is  necessary,  so  that  in  considering  fabrics  on  which  he 
might  desire  to  sample  he  will  be  able  to  appreciate  which  ones  it 
should  be  practicable  for  the  mill  to  undertake,  considering  its  ma- 
chinery and  conditions. 

He  must  also  well  understand  to  what  extent  the  cost  of  manufac- 
ture or  the  difficulty  of  the  work  will  be  influenced  by  the  different 
characteristics  of  the  goods. 

His  mill  knowledge  will,  in  addition,  guide  him  aright  in  keeping 
clear  of  fabrics  of  a  kind  that  are  difficult  to  produce  so  as  to  be  mer- 
chantably  perfect.  He  must  also  thoroughly  understand  merchan- 
dise and  have  a  sound  idea  both  of  costs  of  production  and  commercial 
values,  and  of  the  requirements  that  have  to  be  met  for  each  class  of 
goods,  for  the  different  seasons,  and  for  each  branch  of  the  trade. 

Then,  his  practical  experience  as  a  salesman  must  have  been  con- 
siderable, both  on  the  road  and  at  home,  and  he  should  possess  a  large 
acquaintance  and  a  friendly  standing  among  the  buyers. 

His  knowledge  about  the  conditions  of  wholesale  and  retail  distri- 
bution must  also  be  extensive  and  accurate. 

All  of  the  foregoing  accomplishments  can  be  acquired  in  time  by 
intelligent  men  who  are  willing  to  concentrate  their  whole  minds  and 
efforts  upon  the  task. 

Then,  there  are  fields  in  which  relatively  few  are  able  to  achieve 
success.  Good  taste  in  style  and  design,  a  keen  eye  for  color  har- 
monies, a  power  to  accurately  observe  and  note  the  rise  or  decline 
of  the  demand  for  various  fabrics,  and  the  ability  to  "size  up"  the 
market  situation  are  not  always  to  be  attained. 

Added  to  all  this,  there  must  be  an  underlying  honesty  of  pur- 
pose, for,  when  an  agent  wants  a  quantity  of  goods  made  for  stock, 
it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  such  an  operation  is  in  every  sense 
a  gamble,  and  there  are  many  agents  who  will  lightly  run  such  risks 
when  the  chance  of  loss  falls  upon  their  principals,  but  who  would 
never  dream  of  taking  the  risk  if  the  loss,  or  part  of  it,  that  might 
result,  would  have  to  be  paid  from  their  own  pockets. 

Lastly,  the  sales  manager  must  have  that  firmness  of  character 
which  will  enable  him  to  withstand  both  the  unjust  exactions  of  his 
customers,  and  the  undue  pressure  of  his  salesmen  on  their  behalf, 
and  he  must  also  have  that  quiet  determination  which  will  cause  him 
to  adhere  patiently,  steadily,  and  unfalteringly  to  the  lines  of  a  sane 


336         DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A  MILL 

policy,  carefully  mapped  out,  and  which,  if  followed  up,  must  insure 
success. 

There  are,  doubtless,  many  men  who,  with  proper  opportunities, 
would  measure  up  to  these  standards,  but,  somehow  or  another,  ex- 
tremely few  of  them  seem  to  have  found  their  vocation. 

The  Usual  Training  of  the  Sales  Manager. 

What,  then,  is  the  usual  training  of  many  of  the  sales  managers 
whose  misdirected  activities  spell  loss  or  ruin  to  the  manufacturer? 

A  boy  from  school  finds  a  place  as  office  boy,  or  stock  boy,  in  a 
wholesale  silk  department.  He  is  bright,  clean,  and  industrious,  and 
is  well  liked.  He  keeps  the  stock  in  order,  folds  up  pieces,  cuts  sam- 
ples and  makes  sample  cards,  and  is  generally  useful. 

When  salesmen  are  busy,  or  out,  he  sometimes  gets  a  chance  to 
wait  on  a  customer  and  may  do  so  acceptably.  After  a  while,  he  is 
allowed  to  go  out  and  see  what  trade,  not  already  covered  by  the  other 
salesmen,  he  can  drum  up  in  the  city,  and  in  time  he  builds  up  a 
connection. 

Then,  there  may  be  a  vacancy  on  the  road  over  a  good  territory, 
New  York  State,  the  Middle  West,  or  wherever  it  may  be,  and  he 
is  given  a  chance  and  does  well  at  it,  and  perhaps  becomes  a  widely 
known,  popular,  and  well-paid  salesman  with  a  good  following. 

A  vacancy  now  occurs  in  the  management  of  the  department,  or 
some  other  mill  needs  a  sales  manager,  and  he  is  offered  the  position 
and  accepts  it  without  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  his  entire  fitness  for 
the  post. 

Is  he  fit?  Compare  the  knowledge  and  experience  that  his  train- 
ing could  have  given  him  with  the  qualifications  that  he  should  bring 
to  the  task,  and  the  question  answers  itself. 

Profit  Making,  and  Volume  of  Sales. 

The  function  of  a  sales  manager  is  to  keep  a  mill  sold  up  on 
profitable  goods,  and  to  do  so  he  must  select  constructions,  styles,  and 
colorings  that  can  be  marketed  at  good  prices,  and  at  satisfactory 
profits,  but  the  making  of  profits  is  a  matter  entirely  foreign  to  the 
ordinary  salesman's  experience. 

Volume  of  sales  is  his  aim,  and  he  is  prone  to  believe  that  there 
is  a  profit,  and  a  good  one,  on  all  the  goods  that  he  sells,  and  that 
every  offer — so  long  as  he  can  persuade  his  superiors  to  accept  it — 
is  a  good  offer. 

Then,  when  he  takes  charge  of  the  production,  he  cannot  under- 
stand why  the  mill  costs  appear  so  high,  considers  them  ridiculous 
in  fact,  and,  in  private  conversation,  probably  reflects  severely  on  the 
ability  of  the  manufacturer  and  the  equipment  of  his  plant.  He 
assumes  that  if  a  mill  cannot  find  a  satisfactory  profit  in  its  goods 
at  a  price  as  low  as  the  lowest  the  fault  lies  with  it,  and  that  to 


DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A  MILL         337 

expect  him  to  get  the  price  that  the  manufacturer  insists  is  neces- 
sary to  leave  him  any  profit  at  all,  if  that  price  is  higher  than  any 
one  else's  quotation,  is  to  expect  the  impossible. 

A  Common  Type  of  Department  Manager. 

The  half-baked,  cock-sure,  untrained,  sales  department  manager 
is  the  bane  of  the  market  and  the  ruin  of  many  a  manufacturer,  and 
there  are  those  who  believe  that  a  specially  warm  place  is  reserved 
for  him  in  the  next  world. 

Organising  to  Sell  the  Mill's  Production. 

In  mapping  out  a  programme  for  the  disposal  of  a  mill's  product 
many  points  must  be  well  considered. 

The  first  thing  to  look  into  is  the  character  of  the  mill  machinery 
and  equipment,  the  number  of  its  looms,  the  character  and  supply  of 
the  labor  in  its  vicinity,  and  the  capital  available  for  operation. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  goods  that  annually  go  into  consumption  are 
plain  fabrics,  and  these  goods  are  made  on  a  large  scale  by  the  big 
mills.  Such  must  always  be  the  case,  for,  while  a  small  or  moderate- 
sized  mill  may  employ  most,  or  all,  of  its  looms  on  specialties,  nov- 
elties, or  goods  away  from  the  beaten  track,  yet  no  great  production 
can  be  distributed  along  these  lines. 

Costs  Affected  by  the  Size  of  the  Output. 

In  a  large  mill,  operating,  say,  a  thousand  looms  or  upward,  the 
general  mill  expense,  and  the  selling  expense,  per  yard,  would  be 
distinctly  lower  than  would  be  the  corresponding  expenses  of  a  mill 
of  one-third  of  this  size,  and,  therefore,  on  goods  on  which  the  com- 
petition was  particularly  fierce,  and  the  prices  cut  in  consequence  to 
the  lowest  possible  figure,  there  would  be  no  use  in  the  smaller  mill 
attempting  to  compete  with  the  larger. 

Of  course,  if  business  were  active,  and  a  fair  profit  obtainable  all 
along  the  line,  it  might  be  possible  for  the  small  mill  to  make  the  goods 
at  a  small  profit  while  the  larger  one  was  selling  its  production  at  the 
same  price,  but  with  a  better  margin. 

What  Competition  Necessitates. 

To  compete  effectively  on  staple  goods  of  a  kind  largely  used, 
it  is  necessary  to  have  employed  on  them  a  considerable  amount  of 
loomage ;  to  have  these  looms  of  such  a  type,  and  mounted  with  warps 
of  such  a  good  quality  of  silk,  that  they  can  be  run  at  maximum 
speeds ;  and  to  have  the  width  of  the  cloth  in  each  loom  the  greatest 
that  is  commercially  possible.  Added  to  this,  the  labor  cost,  if  not 
low,  must  not  be  high,  and  the  product  will  then  probably  be  suffi- 
ciently low  in  cost  that,  at  almost  any  reasonable  price,  there  will  be 
a  profit  in  it. 


338         DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A  MILL 

Should  the  mill  that  is  to  be  directed  possess  such  advantages  as 
these,  it  can  be  safely  employed  in  making  plain  goods  of  large  gen- 
eral use. 

On  the  other  hand,  and  as  is  usually  the  case,  no  such  decisive  ad- 
vantages are  to  be  looked  for,  and  some  other  course  must  be  pursued. 

Determining  Upon  a  Selling  Policy. 

After  weighing  all  the  pros  and  cons,  bearing  in  mind  not  only 
the  character  of  the  mill's  equipment,  but  also  its  standing  in  the 
market  as  a  maker  of  one  or  other  classes  of  goods,  as  well  as  the 
acquaintance  of  the  sales  manager  with  the  branches  of  the  trade 
under  consideration,  a  definite  decision  must  be  arrived  at  as  to  the 
direction  in  which  the  selling  activities  shall  be  pushed. 

In  a  small  or  modest-sized  mill,  it  is  rarely  judicious  to  cater  to 
more  than  one  class  of  trade,  and  usually  not  to  make  more  than  one 
general  class  of  goods. 

To  do  otherwise  would  mean  a  frittering  away  of  effort,  an  extra 
heavy  sampling  expense,  an  accumulation  of  odd  lots  of  goods,  diffi- 
culty in  making  deliveries,  and  no  chance  of  ever  being  regarded  as 
headquarters  on  anything. 

The  question  of  whether  piece  dyes  or  skein  dyes  shall  be  featured 
is  of  interest.  With  piece  dyes,  the  preparatory  expense  for  throw- 
ing and  skein  dyeing  are  largely  diminished,  and  raw  materials  are 
turned  into  manufactured  goods  in  very  short  time. 

On  this  account  it  simplifies  matters  somewhat  for  firms  working 
on  a  limited  capital,  although  the  advantage  is  somewhat  offset  by 
the  fact  that  the  cotton  and  schappe^  filling  that  is  largely  used  is  sold 
on  very  short  time,  and  the  terms  on  the  high-class  European  silk 
used  in  the  warps  are  by  no  means  long. 

The  character  of  the  trade  that  it  is  desired  to  secure  will  have 
much  to  do  with  the  methods  that  are  employed  to  get  it. 

Advance  Orders  and  Stock  Goods. 

It  is,  of  course,  very  desirable  to  do  business  strictly  on  an  order 
basis,  but  this  can  hardly  ever  be  done  in  practice.  Some  underlying 
stock  or  assortment  of  goods  seems  to  be  a  necessity  as  a  basis  for 
trading,  but  even  if  no  such  foundation  be  intentionally  provided  it 
has  a  wonderful  way  of  accumulating  of  itself.  Sample  pieces, 
goods  late  for  delivery,  seconds,  cancelled  or  returned  goods,  goods 
made  for  customers  whose  poor  credit  prevents  their  delivery,  and 
what  not,  all  help  to  make  an  accumulation  of  stock. 

In  many  branches  of  the  trade,  both  in  plain  and  in  fancy  goods, 
some  advance  preparation  of  stock  is  customary,  and  a  manufacturer 
is  often  practically  compelled  to  carry  a  jobber's  stock,  on  which,  in- 


DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A  MILL         339 

stead  of  a  jobber's  profit,  he  only  makes  a  brokerage,  and  if  he  has 
made  any  considerable  mistake  in  his  preparation  he  is  certain  to  come 
out  seriously  to  leeward.  At  the  same  time,  undue  accumulations  of 
stock  argue  a  distinct  lack  of  capacity  on  the  part  of  the  sales  man- 
agement. 

Dealing  With  Accumulations  of  Stock. 

All  stock  accumulations  should  be  courageously  dealt  with  each 
season,  and  merchandise  should  nearly  always  be  forced  to  a  sale  in 
the  season  it  was  made  for,  as  it  will  rarely  bring  more,  and  if  car- 
ried over  will  nearly  always  bring  less  and  will  eat  up  interest  in 
addition. 

This  pushing  of  goods  to  a  sale  must  be  done  early  and  while  the 
trade  is  still  active,  but  selling  agents,  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to 
do  better  than  current  offers,  are  apt  to  hold  on  to  the  goods  too  long 
and  so  overstay  their  market. 

When  the  accumulations  are  so  large  that  it  is  clear  that  they 
cannot  all  be  marketed  at  private  sale,  at  any  prices  in  reason,  they 
should  be  sold  in  the  auction-room  and  without  reserve.  Auction- 
room  prices  sometimes  appear  to  be  unpalatable,  but  it  is  rare  to  find 
any  one  who  regrets  having  made  such  a  sale. 

Sales  Policy  Must  Conform  to  Equipment. 

The  equipment  of  a  mill  with  regard  to  Jacquards  and  other  ap- 
pliances for  producing  fancy  goods,  box  looms,  doup  or  grenadine 
harnesses,  facilities  for  silk  printing,  high-speed  looms,  extra-wide 
looms,  etc.,  etc.,  will  have  much  weight  in  determining  the  selling 
policy  to  be  pursued,  but  a  settled  policy  there  must  be  and  it  should 
be  courageously  lived  up  to. 

Should  the  mechanical  equipment  be  far  from  what  is  desired  for 
the  needs  of  the  day,  and  for  the  directions  in  which  business  appears 
to  be  shaping,  it  is  well  to  arrange  to  change  over  or  renew  a  fixed 
amount  of  it,  say  ten  per  cent.,  each  year,  so  that  in  a  measurable  time 
the  equipment  will  be  raised  to  a  state  of  productiveness  second  to 
none. 

Laying  Out  the  Work. 

In  the  laying  out  of  work,  the  sales  manager  will  learn  from  his 
customers,  salesmen  and  others  what  fabrics  and  colorings  seem  to- 
be  in  active  request.  Through  the  medium  of  trade  journals  and 
fashion  papers  he  will  then  try  to  inform  himself  as  to  the  directions 
in  which  the  fashions  abroad  are  leaning. 

The  next  thing  should  be  a  careful  consideration  of  the  styles  and 
shapes  of  garments  that  are  likely  to  be  wanted  for  women's  wear, 
and  a  consideration  of  the  suitability  of  various  fabrics  as  applied  to 
them.  If  skirts  and  sleeves  are  to  flare  out,  a  crepe  de  chine  will 


340         DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A  MILL 

certainly  be  unsuitable,  while,  if  costumes  are  to  be  soft  and  clinging, 
taffetas  will  be  at  a  discount. 

Careful  consideration  along  these  lines  will  lead  to  a  district  nar- 
rowing down  of  the  number  t>f  fabrics  to  be  reckoned  with,  and  if 
certain  of  those  that  remain  are  receiving  favor  abroad,  and  if  it 
be  known  that  any  large  people  on  this  side  are  sampling  on  them,  it 
would  fairly  indicate  that  in  this  direction  some  business  might  be 
reasonably  looked  for. 

Opinions  of  Distributers  Are  Valueless. 

There  is  no  use  asking  distributers  of  goods,  or  any  other  friends 
in  the  market,  as  to  what  is  likely  to  be  good.  Their  opinion  is 
valueless,  and  the  effect  of  such  consultations  is  generally  to  per- 
suade you  to  drop  some  promising  thing  on  their  say-so,  and  which, 
later  on,  brought  out  by  some  other  house,  scores  a  big  success. 

The  sales  manager  must  absolutely  rely  on  his  own  taste  and  his 
own  judgment,  and,  if  he  knows  his  business,  he  will  see  that  his  cloths 
are  of  the  proper  widths,  weights,  assortments  of  colors  and  pat- 
terns, and  of  sound  construction,  and  that  the  only  remaining  ques- 
tions will  be  as  to  whether  the  customer  likes  the  styles  and  will  pay 
the  prices. 

Goods  Should  be  Priced  at  What  They  Will  Bring. 
Unless  fabrics  are  being  made  akin  to  commonplace  market  arti- 
cles, with  which  comparison  can  be  easily  made  by  any  one,  the  proper 
method  of  fixing  the  prices  is  to  determine  the  figure  at  which  the 
goods  could  be  sold  reasonably  freely  over  the  retail  counter,  and 
then  make  the  prices  to  retailer  and  to  jobber  accordingly.  If  these 
prices  do  not  then  afford  at  least  a  working  profit,  the  fabrics  must 
be  either  re-constructed  on  a  less  costly  basis  or  abandoned. 

Fabrics  and  Colors  Which  Are  Dead  or  Dying. 

One  thing  of  value  can  be  learned  from  the  distributers,  and  that 
is,  what  fabrics  and  colors  are  either  dead  or  appear  to  be  dying, 
and  this  negative  information  in  helping  to  guide  one  as  to  what  not 
to  make,  is  of  very  real  importance. 

The  selecting  of  colors  is  to  be  treated  in  the  same  way  as  tjhe 
selection  of  fabrics,  in  that  there  is  a  weeding  out  of  colors  that  are 
passe,  and  of  such  others  as  are  distinctly  unavailable,  and  then  con- 
sidering which  of  the  remaining  classes  of  colors  seem  to  be  having 
a  vogue  abroad. 

Foreign  Sample  Collections. 

The  foreign  sample  collections  often  contain  many  good  ideas,  but 
it  must  not  be  supposed  by  any  means  that  all  of  the  patterns  con- 
tained therein  have  been  in  evidence  in  the  Continental  markets.  Many 


DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A   MILL         341 

of  them  are  made  solely  for  the  purposes  of  the  houses  purveying  the 
samples,  and  have  never  been  on  the  market  at  all. 

In  studying  these  foreign  sample  collections,  excellent  ideas  can 
be  got  from  collections  provided  for  entirely  different  lines  of  business. 

Getting  Up  the  Samples  and  Fixing  Prices. 

Having  formed  some  general  views  as  to  what  will  likely  be  salable, 
the  sales  manager  consults  with  the  manufacturer  who  proceeds  to 
get  up  samples  of  various  kinds  and  qualities,  but  in  the  general 
directions  indicated.  Here  good  taste  and  good  designing,  coupled 
with  high-class  constructive  skill  are  prime  necessities.  Comparatively 
slight  changes  in  the  proportions  of  warp  and  filling,  and  in  their 
arrangement  and  method  of  interlacing,  will  make  all  the  difference 
in  the  world  as  to  their  desirability,  and  what  are  known  as  "invisible 
values"  must  be  carefully  avoided.  This  is  the  task  of  the  mill,  and 
it  must  be  properly  done  if  the  selling  end  is  to  be  successful. 

The  sample  blankets  now  come  forward,  and  critical  judgment  is 
here  necessary.  Questions  of  prices,  widths,  finishes,  patterns  and  col- 
ors must  be  decided  and  complete  and  comprehensive  sample  ranges 
laid  out. 

When  the  ideas  are  novel,  and  not  likely  to  be  found  in  competi- 
tors' collections,  an  effort  should  be  made  to  get  some  really  large 
profit,  for,  on  a  new  article,  not  even  an  expert  can  tell,  off-hand, 
within  10  to  20%  of  the  cost. 

In  such  cases,  and  possibly  in  most  cases,  it  is  highly  undesirable 
that  the  salesmen  should  know  the  real  cost  of  the  goods,  as  very 
few  have  the  moral  courage  to  stand  out  for  a  profit — and  get  it. 

Assortment  of  Colors  Should  be  Limited. 

It  is  well  to  limit  the  number  of  colors  in  a  range  to  the  minimum, 
in  spite  of  opinions  to  the  contrary.  Too  many  colors  means  too 
much  stock,  and  difficulty  in  delivering  assortments  on  time.  Few 
colors,  but  the  right  ones,  should  be  the  aim. 

Color  Harmonies  and  Discords. 

In  combining  colors  when  laying  out  fancy  goods,  color  harmonies 
should  be  studied  and  carefully  worked  out,  and  color  discords  must 
be  avoided. 

The  effect  of  various  colors  upon  each  other  is  not  as  well  un- 
derstood as  it  should  be,  and,  even  when  already  known,  is  apt  to  be 
forgotten. 

It  is  a  useful  thing  to  have  a  chart  made  out  for  use  in  the  sam- 
ple room  which  will  indicate,  in  a  general  way,  the  colors  which 
contrast  well  or  ill. 


342         DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A   MILL 


tn 


BLUE 


BROWN 


CREAM 


GREEN 


GRAY 


HELIO 


LAVENDER 


I 


MAROON 


MYRTLE 


NAVY 


NILE 


OLIVE 


ORANGE 


PURPLE 


I 


o 


RED 


SALMON 


SK1FBLUE 


TAN 


WINE 


vaiow 


DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A   MILL         343 

An  Interesting  Color  Chart. 

Such  a  chart  for  haberdashery  has  been  worked  out  and  printed 
by  The  Haberdasher  Company,  and  I  present  it  herewith  to  illus- 
trate the  method  that  might  be  employed  in  making  them  up  for  other 
colors  and  for  other  lines  of  business. 

Heavy  Expense  of  Sample  Collections. 

In  bringing  out  a  collection  of  fancies  a  great  deal  of  money  has 
to  be  spent,  particularly  for  Jacquards  and  prints,  and  this  expense 
should  bear  some  reasonable  relation  to  the  business  to  be  effected, 
but  it  rarely  does.  The  expense  is  always  grossly  in  excess  of  a 
proper  pro  rata  expense  per  yard,  and  the  effect  is  seen  in  the  com- 
paratively small  profit  cleaned  up  on  a  fancy  goods  business,  which, 
considering  the  risk,  should  by  rights  pay  handsomely. 

Copying  Competitors'  Ideas. 

Some  sales  agents  adopt  the  apparently  simple  course  of  copying 
the  fabrics  that  their  competitors  are  making.  Their  salesmen  come 
running  in  and  tell  of  the  "land-office  business"  that  Smith  or  Jones 
is  doing  on  this  or  that  fabric,  and  how  much  they  themselves  could 
do  if  the  same  cloth,  or  what  would  answer  for  it,  could  be  got  out 
to  sell  at  25/2  cents  a  yard  less,  etc. 

The  effect  of  listening  to  such  everyday  silly  talk  is  the  under- 
taking of  an  ever  fruitless  task,  for  the  profit  on  most  goods  of  large 
sale  is  so  close  that,  to  get  the  business  away  from  those  who  are 
doing  it  can  only  be  accomplished  by  selling  on  a  basis  of  no  profit 
at  all,  and  frequently  even  that  cannot  be  secured,  while  the  firm 
that  tries  to  do  it  becomes  visibly  a  tail-ender  and  all  pretensions  to 
leadership  must  be  abandoned.  Chronic  copyists  may  save  in  experi- 
menting and  sampling  expenses,  and  their  brains  are  not  liable  to 
wear  out  from  overwork,  but  they  are  a  contemptible,  though  un- 
fortunately very  numerous,  class. 

Difficulties  Attending  the  Making  of  Printed  Goods. 
People  sampling  on  warp  or  surface  prints  must  well  consider  that 
in  busy  print  seasons,  when  the  market  printers  and  others  are  rushed 
to  death,  they  are  more  than  likely  to  be  very  late  in  the  delivery  of 
many  of  their  orders  and  samples,  which  will  entail  cancellations  of 
serious  extent,  involving  heavy  losses. 

Other  Points  of  Importance. 

It  is  also  to  be  remarked  that  the  time  to  stop  making  a  line  of 
goods,  and  to  take  active  steps  to  run  through  and  clean  up  all  that 
have  been  made,  is  at  the  moment  when  they  are  in  red-hot  request. 
If  this  is  done,  the  profit  already  made  will  be  secured,  and  losses 
that  always  come  when  the  market  falls  off  will  be  avoided. 


344         DIRECTING   THE  PRODUCTION  OF  A   MILL 

The  question  of  marketing  the  product  of  a  mill  by  means  of  an 
advertising  campaign  on  trade-marked  fabrics  is  one  of  special  in- 
terest, but  it  is  so  broad  that  it  cannot  be  treated  of  here. 

The  foregoing  remarks  will  serve  to  shew  both  the  difficulty  of 
properly  directing  the  production  of  a  textile  mill,  the  great  impor- 
tance of  the  subject,  and  the  manifest  lack  of  the  proper  qualifications 
on  the  part  of  many  persons  who  have  such  work  in  their  charge. 
Perhaps,  if  sales  managers  were  more  generally  graduated  from  those 
having  had  experience  at  the  mill  end,  than  from  those  brought  up  at 
the  selling  end,  some  improvement  might  result. 


XXXII 

IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS 

To  those  engaged  in  the  handling  of  textiles  it  often  seems  as  if 
the  goods  they  are  buying  or  selling  are  very  imperfect,  and  remarks 
are  freely  made  at  such  times  reflecting  severely  on  the  care  or  knowl- 
edge of  the  manufacturer. 

These  criticisms,  while  no  doubt  frequently  justified,  are  more 
often  the  result  of  ignorance  on  the  part  of  those  making  them,  as 
all  goods,  according  to  their  nature,  are  liable  to  certain  imperfec- 
tions, some  showing  one  class  of  defects  more  clearly,  and  some  an- 
other. 

Absolutely  Perfect  Goods  an  Impossibility. 

It  may,  I  think,  be  truthfully  stated  that  an  absolutely  perfect 
piece  of  goods — perfect  in  material,  in  construction,  in  dye,  and  in 
finish — is  impossible  of  production,  and  perfection  in  merchandise  is 
therefore  a  matter  of  degree. 

The  true  test  is  whether  a  piece  is  commercially  perfect,  that  is, 
whether  it  can  be  used,  without  loss,  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  is 
intended;  and  there  are  comparatively  few  of  the  goods  that  are 
stigmatized  as  being  "seconds,"  or  "unmerchantable,"  that  could  not 
be  used  without  loss  if  a  fair  effort  was  made. 

Then,  again,  a  piece  may  be  defective  for  one  use  while  satisfac- 
tory for  another,  as  in  the  case  of  certain  fabrics  that  slip  very  easily, 
and  which,  while  quite  unsuitable  on  that  account,  say,  for  dress  pur- 
poses, might  not  be  at  all  objectionable  for  millinery  uses. 

Claims,   Unjust  and  Just. 

There  are  many  things  that  cannot  be  classed  as  imperfections 
which  subject  goods  to  claims  and  allowances,  and  many  purchasers, 
particularly  those  in  the  cutting-up  and  other  manufacturing  trades, 


346      IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS 

make  such  exorbitant  claims,  and  often  on  such  flimsy  pretexts,  that, 
plainly  stated,  they  are  simply  dishonest,  but,  for  reasons  of  policy 
(though  the  soundness  of  the  policy  is  more  than  questionable),  they 
are  generally  allowed. 

In  the  case  of  certain  purchasers  it  is  notorious  that,  be  the  goods 
bad  or  good,  their  claims  will  be  so  made  as  to  never  average  less 
than  a  certain  percentage  on  the  business  done,  and  most  of  the  claims 
so  made  and  allowed  are  simply  money  extorted  from  the  seller  under 
the  threat  of  the  return  of  the  goods,  and  the  consequent  greater  loss 
that  would  have  to  be  faced  in  marketing  the  lot  elsewhere. 

No  examiner  of  goods  in  a  cutting-up  establishment  could  hold  his 
place  if  the  claims  he  made  did  not  greatly  exceed  his  salary,  and, 
therefore,  no  matter  how  perfect  the  goods,  he  has  got  to  find  pre- 
texts for  claims. 

If  a  cutter-up  makes  a  claim  and  gets  an  allowance  he  rarely  loses 
that.  It  is  generally  a  clear  profit  to  him,  as  his  cutters  have  got  to 
work  the  imperfect  places  into  the  goods  somehow,  and  if  a  retailer 
gets  an  allowance  the  goods  go  on  the  counter  at  the  same  price  that 
they  would  if  he  had  not. 

While  certain  claims  are  thoroughly  equitable  and  not  open  to  any 
objection,  they  are  in  the  great  minority,  and  the  unfair  or  dispro- 
portionate ones  form  a  very  serious  expense  to  the  manufacturers, 
and  an  unwarranted  one. 

The  fierce  competition  among  sellers  has  brought  the  profit  on 
goods  down  to  practically  a  brokerage,  in  which  profit  there  is  no 
margin  to  offset  heavy  claims;  in  fact,  goods  are  priced  on  the  as- 
sumption that  they  will  all  come  perfect,  and  yet  the  claims  are  made 
and  allowed  just  the  same. 

Remarkable  Perfection  Attained. 

The  more  one  knows  about  manufacturing,  the  greater  is  the  won- 
der that  goods  can  be  made  as  perfectly  as  they  are.  While  men  and 
women  have  their  limitations  as  to  skill,  accuracy,  or  what  not,  yet 
the  same  people  performing  the  same  work,  year  in  and  year  out, 
become  marvellously  skillful  at  it. 

Thus  it  is  that  mills  running  steadily  on  staples  produce  very  per- 
fect goods,  while  those  making  novelties,  or  shifting  constantly  from 
one  fabric  to  another,  must  make  many  seconds.  It  takes  some  time 
for  the  weaver  to  get  his  hand  in  on  a  new  job,  and  during  that  time 
he  will  make  more  or  less  imperfect  work.  The  most  skillful  billiard 
player  in  the  world,  if  compelled  to  play  nothing  but  pool  for  a  year, 
would  make  but  a  sorry  hand  at  billiards,  at  first,  when  he  would 
return  to  it.  So  it  is  with  a  weaver. 

The  manufacturing  of  a  piece  of  woven  merchandise  is  a  most 
complex  and  technical  matter — even  for  the  simplest  cloth — while  for 
high-class  fancies  it  is  kaleidoscopic  in  its  difficulties. 


IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS      34? 

The  Manufacturer's  Load  of  Care. 

Manufacturers  as  a  rule  are  the  most  careful  and  painstaking  of 
men,  as  their  responsibility  lies  heavily  upon  them  and  the  detail  of 
the  work  is  a  crushing  load.  The  wealth  of  care  that  has  to  be  used 
in  the  selection  and  preparation  of  the  material,  and  in  the  laying  out 
of  the  work  and  the  following  up  of  it  through  all  the  numerous  proc- 
esses, is  no  child's  play,  and  with  the  many  adverse  elements  that  have 
to  be  contended  with,  both  human  and  mechanical,  in  addition  to 
those  things  not  within  the  control  of  the  mill,  it  is  wonderful  how 
such  a  good  average  of  perfection  is  got. 

How  Damages  Might  be  Classified. 

Damages,  or  things  causing  losses  on  goods,  fall  into  certain 
groups.  They  might  be  roughly  classified  as  follows:  defects  in  the 
raw  material  used ;  defective  preparation — throwing,  dyeing,  etc. ;  dam- 
ages caused  in  the  weaving  or  preparatory  processes;  injuries  during 
the  piece  dyeing,  printing,  or  finishing;  and  mistakes  or  miscalcula- 
tions in  laying  out  the  work. 

Every  Thread  has  Its  Allotted  Place. 

Let  it  be  clearly  understood  that  the  threads  composing  the  warp 
and  filling  of  a  fabric  do  not  occur  at  random.  Every  warp  thread, 
from  the  time  it  is  unwound  from  the  bobbin,  has  its  allotted  place 
in  the  warp,  its  special  heddle  on  a  particular  shaft  of  the  harness, 
and  its  special  dent  in  the  reed.  Let  a  single  end  out  of  the  thou- 
sands in  a  warp  be  missing,  or  wrongly  drawn  in,  or  crossed,  or 
wrongly  reeded,  or  of  a  different  twist,  or  of  a  different  tension, 
or  be  of  a  wrong  color,  or  thickness,  or  material,  and  you  have  a 
piece  of  goods  that  is  a  bad  second.  Every  pick,  too,  has  its  allotted 
place  in  the  weave,  and  every  thread  must  interlace  with  every  other 
in  the  prearranged  manner.  Think  what  this  means. 

We  will  now  consider  some  (though  by  no  means  all)  of  the  draw- 
backs and  damages  that  are  incident  to  the  manufacture  of  silk  tex- 
tiles, and  possibly  the  recital  of  them  may  help  to  make  some  of  the 
critics  more  lenient. 

Trouble  Arising  from  the  Raw  Material. 

Trouble  with  raw  material  may  begin  with  its  variation  in  size  or 
twist,  which  makes  streaky  warps  and  irregular  weft;  with  its 
color,  which,  if  uneven,  will  make  shady  silk,  which  is  particularly 
noticeable  in  the  filling;  with  its  strength  or  elasticity,  which,  if  poor, 
makes  many  broken  ends  with  consequently  increased  weaving  im- 
perfections— knots,  and  ends  missing  for  a  greater  or  less  length; 
or  with  its  cleanliness,  which,  if  inferior,  may  introduce  into  the  goods 
many  slugs,  nibs,  etc. 

With  other  yarns,  cotton,  for  instance,  their  hardness  or  softness 


348       IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS 


are  important  factors;  they  should  not  be  hairy,  and  their  evenness, 
cleanness,  and  twist  should  be  regular  and  good,  or  else  inferior  goods 
will  be  the  result. 

How  the  Throwster  Can  Make  Damages. 

The  throwster  can  injure  silk  by  injudicious  soaking  which  opens 
up  the  fibre;  by  stretching  it  unduly  or  unevenly;  by  irregular  twist 
and  imperfect  doubling,  producing  "corkscrew"  and  other  objection- 
able effects ;  by  allowing  the  silk  to  get  scratched  or  cut  on  worn-out 
guides  or  flyers;  or  he  may  mix  one  kind  of  silk  with  another,  and 
do  damage  in  many  other  ways. 

Bad  Work  by  the  Skein-Dyer  and  Piece-Dyer. 

The  skein-dyer,  by  carelessness,  can  so  process  the  silk  that  it  will 
become  rotten  in  short  order;  he  can  mix  up  the  silk;  he  may  match 
the  colors  badly,  and  the  silk  may  be  irregularly  weighted  or  colored, 
shady  or  lustreless,  or  subject  to  "cockling,"  or  "lousiness." 

The  piece-dyer  may  make  bad  matches ;  shady  goods ;  goods 
spotted,  streaked,  or  scorched;  he  may  run  them  in  too  narrow,  or 
stretch  them  out  too  wide,  or  allow  them  to  run  up  unduly  in  length ; 
they  may  have  chafe  marks,  damaged  selvages,  or  be  so  handled  that 
the  warp  threads  spread  apart,  as  it  were,  making  a  crude,  streaky 
effect;  the  goods  may  have  an  oily  or  other  objectionable  smell;  the 
color  may  crock  or  rub  off;  they  may  not  be  properly  boiled  off  and 
so  may  lack  in  lustre;  and  they  may  be  so  treated  as  to  have  an  un- 
desirable touch. 

Damages  the  Printer  is  Responsible  For. 

The  silk-printer  may  not  fix  or  set  his  colors  properly,  so  that  they 
may  crock;  if  his  rollers  are  out  of  true,  or  badly  aligned,  the  pres- 
sure will  vary  and  the  depth  of  the  colors  will  be  irregular  in  places 
in  consequence;  the  different  rollers  may  not  register  exactly;  the 
white  of  the  ground  may  not  be  pure,  but  may  be  tinged  with  color; 
many  colors  or  color  combinations  may  be  tarnished;  streaks  called 
"doctor-marks"  are  common;  the  goods  may  be  damaged  in  strength 
by  the  injudicious  use  of  acids  or  other  agents ;  and  there  will  be  mis- 
pynts,  spots,  and  other  defects.  In  warp  prints,  threads  may  be  badly 
stuck  together,  or  may  be  broken — causing  damages  in  printing  and 
trouble  in  the  looms  later  on. 

How  the  Finisher  Makes  Trouble. 

The  finisher  may  get  goods  too  soft  or  too  hard;  he  may  use  too 
much  heat  and  so  fade  or  alter  the  colors;  the  spray  used  may  not 
be  well  controlled  and  spotted  or  mottled  goods  will  result;  fabrics 
that  are  to  be  sized  on  the  back  may  have  the  dressing  squeezed 
through  to  the  face;  the  singeing  machine  may  scorch  the  goods;  in 
separating  split-edge  goods,  the  edges  may  be  damaged;  defective  or 


IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS       349 

wrong  buttons  on  the  breaker  may  make  streaks  through  the  pieces; 
the  calender  or  press  may  nip,  or  cut,  or  scorch  the  goods ;  cylindering 
machines  may  soil  them,  and  they  may  be  burned  on  the  tentering 
frames,  as  well  as  being  damaged  in  many  other  ways. 

Defects  in  the  Warp  and  Their  Causes. 

Let  us  now  consider  some  of  the  bad  appearances  produced  in  the 
goods,  and  the  causes  of  the  same. 

A  fabric  may  appear  streaky  in  the  warp.  If  the  streaks  come  in 
broad  bands,  of  a  regular  width,  they  may  be  due  to  section-marks, 
caused  by  irregularity  in  the  tension  of  the  different  sections  of  which 
the  warp  is  composed. 

Bad  streakiness  may  result  from  the  use  together  of  two  different 
dye  lots,  even  of  the  same  color  of  silk,  unless  great  care  has  been 
used  in  the  regular  alternation  of  the  ends.  Any  tight  ends  in  the 
warp  will  show  up  as  streaks,  and  so  will  any  threads  that  have  more 
or  less  twist  than  the  others. 

At  every  loom,  bobbins  called  "piecing  bobbins"  are  hung  up,  and 
material  for  piecing  up  broken  threads  is  drawn  off  them.  If  they 
are  of  a  different  dye  from  the  body  of  the  warp  they  will  probably 
show  as  streaks  where  they  are  used.  On  print  warps,  where  it  is 
not  practicable  to  have  exactly  suitable  printed  threads  for  the  pur- 
pose, this  trouble  cannot  be  prevented. 

Silk  that  was  originally  of  irregular  color,  or  silk  irregularly  dyed, 
may  also  give  a  striped  appearance.  So  will  silk  that  shows  great 
variation  in  size  in  the  raw,  or  when  different  sizes  of  the  same  color 
of  silk  get  mixed. 

If  the  warp  is  passed  through  too  coarse  a  reed  it  will  show  reed 
marks  throughout,  and  reed  marks  will  show  locally  where  there  are 
any  dents  too  wide  or  too  narrow,  due  to  injury  to  the  reed,  and,  if 
it  is  rough  or  cut,  it  will  then  scratch  and  fray  the  silk,  and,  if  dirty, 
will  soil  it. 

The  warp  may  also  be  chafed  by  the  heddle  eyes  in  the  harness 
if  they  are  cut,  and  harnesses,  or  ends  in  Jacquard  harnesses,  work- 
ing irregularly  or  out  of  time,  will  produce  what  are  known  as  har- 
ness skips — places  where  the  warp  ends  skip  over  more  filling  picks 
than  they  should. 

Many  goods  are  woven  wrong  side  up,  when  by  so  doing  it  will 
entail  less  effort  upon  the  loom,  and  in  such  cases  harness  skips  are 
very  hard  to  detect.  In  many  piece-dyed  fabrics,  also,  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  observe  them  till  after  the  goods  have  been  dyed. 

Too  many  broken  warp  ends  make  a  multiplicity  of  knots,  and 
when  a  smash  has  occurred — a  place  where  a  shuttle  has  got  jammed 
into  the  warp  and  which  takes  many  hours  of  weary  work  to  piece 
up — a  bad  place  will  be  caused  by  the  hundreds  of  knots  that  are  tied 
in  there. 


350      IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS 

With  hair-line  patterns,  a  specky  or  mottled  appearance  is  not  un- 
common, caused  by  extra  fine  or  extra  heavy  places  in  the  warp  threads 
falling  together,  which  to  the  eye  appear  like  light  or  dark  spots. 

Ends  that  are  missing,  those  that  are  drawn  in  through  the  wrong 
heddles  or  through  the  wrong  dents  of  the  reed,  and  extra  ends,  all 
make  very  noticeable  stripes.  The  warp  may  be  all  right  at  the  start, 
but  as  ends  break  down  from  time  to  time  as  the  weaving  proceeds 
it  is  very  easy  for  the  weaver,  in  replacing  them,  to  get  them  into  the 
wrong  places. 

Where  very  fine  reeds,  with  the  dents  made  of  very  thin  wire,  are 
used,  the  wires  will  spring  considerably  as  the  lay  beats  up,  and  bad 
effects  are  sometimes  produced  in  this  way.  Also,  when  a  filling  stop 
motion  is  used,  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  loom,  the  feeler  wires  may 
make  a  streak  where  they  work  up  and  down  through  the  warp. 

In  goods  with  cords,  the  cotton  filling  of  the  cords  may  "grin" 
through  the  silk  covering,  particularly  if  it  be  of  a  strongly  contrast- 
ing color,  and  Milanaise  or  sling-cord  effects  are  not  only  trouble- 
some to  weave,  but  are  very  hard  to  get  perfect,  as  any  irregularity 
in  the  working  of  the  doups,  or  breakages  of  the  thread,  will  leave  the 
rib  uncovered  in  places,  or  make  a  bad  appearance  where  it  is  bound 
at  the  edges,  and  if  the  cord  be  stuffed  too  full  it  will  make  trouble. 

Print  warps,  when  the  attempt  is  made  to  weave  them  without 
having  had  crossing  picks  first  woven  into  them  (to  be  afterwards 
picked  out  as  the  regular  weaving  proceeds),  will  "chine"  badly,  pro- 
ducing a  very  uncertain  appearance  in  the  pattern,  owing  to  the  ir- 
regular stretching  of  the  threads. 

Filling  Damages,  and  How  They  Occur. 

Bad  effects,  filling  ways,  are  seen  in  silk  that  was  of  irregular  color 
in  the  raw,  or  that  has  been  unevenly  dyed,  which  makes  a  cross-over 
effect.  Mixed  bobbins  from  other  dyeings  of  the  same  color  will  pro- 
duce a  very  bad  "rowy"  appearance. 

A  damage  known  as  "rusty  silk,"  where  very  fine,  faint,  brownish 
streaks  are  seen  scattered  through  the  filling  on  white  or  light  shade 
goods,  is  due  to  stained  cocoons  having  been  reeled  into  the  raw-silk. 
This  trouble  is  not  uncommon  with  low  grade  silks,  and  cannot  be 
detected  till  the  goods  are  woven. 

Irregularities  in  the  size  of  the  silk,  also,  make  very  visible  differ- 
ences in  its  apparent  shade,  and  poor  spinning  of  schappe  or  cotton 
yarns  gives  a  similar  result.  Material  of  irregular  size,  when  used 
in  figured  patterns,  gives  trouble  due  to  the  very  fine  places  not  suffi- 
ciently covering  the  figures,  which  then  have  an  open  or  "hungry" 
look,  and,  as  the  size  varies  from  thick  to  thin,  the  pattern  will  be 
more  or  less  distorted.  Tsatlee  silks  are  particularly  troublesome  in 
this  respect. 

A  faulty  working  of  the  take-up  motion  will  cause  the  cloth  to  be 


IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS       351 

woven  with  thick  and  thin  places,  and  when  tne  loom  is  started  up, 
after  the  cloth  has  been  loosened  for  any  purpose,  it  requires  much 
skill  on  the  part  of  the  weaver  to  avoid  having  a  thin  place,  or  a  heavy 
bar  across  the  piece;  or  there  may  be  two  picks  in  the  same  shed, 
or  a  shed  may  be  left  empty,  if  the  weaver  is  careless. 

The  shuttles  may  be  mixed,  and  in  patterns  where  a  cotton  pick 
works  on  the  back,  and  a  silk  pick  floats  over  the  figure  on  the  face, 
the  materials  may  be  reversed,  the  cotton  appearing  on  the  face.  In 
crepes,  too,  where  right-hand  and  left-hand  hard  twists  are  woven 
in  alternately,  any  mixing  of  the  shuttles  or  quills  will  produce  bad 
puckered  places  across  the  cloth. 

If  anything  interferes  to  prevent  one  or  more  of  the  harnesses 
from  rising  or  falling  in  its  prearranged  sequence,  we  have  harness- 
skips,  where  the  threads  do  not  properly  interlace,  and  there  appears 
a  row  of  skipping  warp  threads  across  the  piece.  There  are  mispicks, 
also,  when  the  filling  thread  gets  in  the  wrong  shed,  making  a  bad 
cross-over  defect.  Then  there  are  floats,  where  the  pick  floats  over 
warp  threads  when  it  should  be  under  them.  If  two  threads  are 
accidentally  wound  on  the  quill  together,  or  if  the  filling  drags  in 
double  in  any  way,  we  will  have  a  double  pick,  and  if  the  thread 
in  the  shuttle  runs  entirely  out,  or  the  thread  breaks,  we  get  a  missing 
pick  or  a  broken  pick. 

Cockling  and  Its  Cause. 

Cockling  is  a  most  serious  trouble  at  times,  the  genuine  cockling 
lying  largely  at  the  door  of  the  dyer.  Silk  in  certain  sizes  and  weight- 
ings is  more  susceptible  to  it  than  other  lots.  Cockling  effects  may  be 
produced  in  a  variety  of  ways,  such  as  by  uneven  doubling  in  the 
throwing,  or  of  the  dyed  silk,  uneven  shuttle  tension,  etc.,  etc.  The 
cloth  may  also  be  puckered  from  various  causes, 'such  as  tight  selvages 
or  ribs. 

"Lousiness"  in  Silk. 

Some  silk  is  very  subject  to  "lousiness,"  shewing  a  specky  appear- 
ance in  the  finished  goods,  and  careless  boiling-off  by  the  dyer  will 
promote  this  defect.  Cotton  yarns,  too,  carry  more  or  less  speck  or 
leaf,  or  bits  of  broken  cotton-seed  hulls,  in  them,  and  for  any  goods 
that  are  to  be  dyed  in  whites,  or  light  colors,  very  specially  selected 
cotton  must  be  used  to  avoid  these  specks,  and  the  yarn  must  be  double 
combed. 

Difficulties  With  Chameleons. 

Chameleon  effects,  where  two  colors  are  used  in  the  filling,  are 
quite  impossible  to  get  perfect  in  the  cheap  or  moderate-priced  grades, 
for,  in  these  qualities,  the  two  colors  must  either  be  doubled  together, 
or  two  quills  of  the  different  colors  must  be  put  in  the  same  shuttle, 
and,  owing  to  the  silk  twisting  itself  more  or  less  as  it  is  laid  in  the 
shed,  a  "raye"  appearance  from  the  sides  is  certain  to  result. 


352      IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS 

Other  Troubles  in  the  Filling. 

Wrongly  built  box-chains  may  also  cause  box- work  patterns,  plaids, 
etc.,  to  come  out  most  incorrectly. 

The  filling  may  show  slugs,  knots,  loops,  or  bunches  of  thread, 
and  loose  threads  may  be  dragged  in  with  the  picks.  Good  picking 
will  correct  much  of  this.  Then,  lint  from  the  weaving  threads  may 
be  beaten  in,  and  when  black  stripes,  whether  schappe,  cotton, 
or  silk  of  a  hairy  nature,  are  woven  upon  white  or  light  grounds,  the 
black  hair  or  lint  is  apt  to  get  mixed  in  with  the  light  ground,  giving 
it  a  very  dirty  or  blackish  appearance,  resulting  in  a  bad  damage  and 
one  that  cannot  be  rectified.  Dirty  harnesses,  particularly  those  that 
have  previously  been  weaving  on  black  or  dark  warps,  and  which 
have  not  been  thoroughly  cleaned,  will  produce  the  same  effect. 

Soiling  of  Goods. 

Soiled  places  in  the  goods  may  be  due  to  simple  contact  with  dirt 
in  various  ways,  or  to  the  dropping  into,. or  onto,  the  goods  of  dirt 
from  overhead.  There  may  be  finger  marks,  and  grease,  oil,  or  water 
spots.  Where  stains  have  been  removed  with  benzine  or  turpentine 
an  "aureole"  may  be  shown — a  noticeable  outline  at  the  limits  to  which 
the  fluid  has  floated  the  particles  of  dirt. 

Dirty  or  rusty  reeds  will  streak  the  warp,  and  dirty  shuttles  will 
make  marks  filling  ways.  The  injudicious  use  of  paraffin  wax,  when 
weaving  certain  warps,  may  make  waxy  streaks.  Iron-rust  stains  may 
come  from  drips  in  the  finishing  room,  or  come  similarly  on  hard-twist 
silk  when  it  is  being  steamed,  or  on  print  warps  or  surface  prints 
when  the  color  is  being  developed  in  the  steaming  kier. 

Clean  Goods,  and  What  It  Entails. 

To  attain  perfectly  clean  goods,  for  whites,  etc.,  it  is  necessary  to 
use  the  greatest  precautions.  New  harnesses,  reeds,  and  shuttles  are 
needed,  the  spools  or  bobbins  are  wrapped  in  white  tissue  paper,  the 
quills  are  kept  in  boxes  with  white  chalk,  and  the  weaver's  hands 
must  be  cleanliness  itself.  The  warp,  and  the  woven  cloth,  must  be 
kept  well  covered  with  paper,  and  the  head  motion,  or  Jacquard,  must 
also  be  protected  by  cloths  or  paper  to  prevent  it  from  throwing  any 
oil  or  dirt  down  into  the  weaving  warp.  The  extra  cost  of  making 
whites,  or  very  light  shades,  particularly  in  very  wide  goods,  is  ob- 
vious, and  yet  buyers  are  unwilling  to  pay  more  for  them. 
Perspiration  Stains,  and  Other  Soiling. 

Perspiration  stains  are  due  to  the  falling  of  it  on  the  goods  from 
the  person  of  the  weaver,  picker,  or  other  operative,  and  the  contact 
with  the  weaver's  hands  when  replacing  or  adjusting  warp  threads. 
Perspiration  affects  colors,  and  tin-weighted  silk,  most  injuriously,  but 
the  effects  are  often  not  developed  till  weeks  or  months  afterwards. 

Silk  may  be  dirtied  in  the  throwing,  and  cotton  in  the  spinning, 


IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS       353 

in  such  a  way  that,  when  dyed,  the  stains  will  still  remain.  If  the 
throwster  uses  any  mineral  oil  in  the  soaking  it  is  sure  to  make  trou- 
ble in  the  dyeing  process. 

Trouble  With  Selvages. 

In  woven  goods,  much  trouble  is  often  found  in  the  edges  or 
selvages.  They  may  be  woven  too  tight,  or  too  slack ;  if  split  edge,  the 
binding  may  be  insufficient,  and  at  the  cut  the  threads  may  pull  off ; 
they  may  be  cut  or  torn  off  in  the  finishing,  or  may  have  been  orig- 
inally woven  in  an  open  and  ragged  manner;  and,  if  moired,  they 
may  have  been  cut  or  pinched. 

Faulty  Designing. 

Faulty  designing  may  be  responsible  for  irregular  tensions  in  the 
cloth,  causing  puckering,  or  other  troubles;  for  the  design  appearing 
to  "stripe" ;  for  poor  binding  and  consequently  for  loose  places  where 
the  figures  in  patterns  occur,  and  for  sleazy  cloths;  for  lack  of  bal- 
ance to  the  fabric,  or  injudicious  proportioning  of  the  materials  in  it; 
for  imperfect  repeating  of  the  pattern,  or  for  distorted  patterns; 
for  designing  two  or  more  weaves  to  be  worked  from  one  warp,  when 
they  should  be  made  in  separate  warps  on  account  of  their  different 
take-ups ;  for  making  the  filling  or  warp  threads  to  float  injudiciously 
far,  and  for  a  host  of  other  troubles. 

System  At  the  Mill. 

In  laying  out  and  following  up  the  goods  at  the  mill,  any  careless- 
ness, or  lack  of  system,  will  entail  all  sorts  of  expensive  mistakes. 
Wrong  sets  in  the  warps,  or  wrong  numbers  of  picks  in  the  fillings; 
irregular  lengths  in  the  pieces  (which  in  necktie  sets  is  an  expensive 
matter)  ;  wrong  weaves,  and  wrong  Jacquard  patterns ;  wrong  warp 
stripings,  or  box  effects;  bad  color  matches  and  mistakes  in  colors 
or  qualities ;  and  laying  the  goods  too  wide  or  too  narrow,  are  only  a 
few  of  the  mischances  possible. 

Damages  to  the  Woven  Merchandise. 

Damage  in  the  merchandise  may  be  due  to  holes,  as  when  a  weaver 
cuts  his  cloth  with  the  point  of  his  shuttle;  chafing  or  scratching  of 
the  face  from  friction  against  the  sand-paper  roller;  friction  marks 
running  end  ways,  from  contact  with  anything  that  would  rub  against 
the  cloth ;  streaks  caused  by  irregularities  in  the  buttons  of  the  breaker 
in  finishing ;  gum  spots,  which  drip  down  in  the  spray  room,  and  mot- 
tled appearances  due  to  badly  managed  spray. 

If  silk  that  is  to  be  bleached  with  peroxides,  such  as  tussah,  has 
been  affected  by  contact  with  rusty  iron,  the  threads  so  impregnated 
may  be  entirely  eaten  up  in  the  bleaching. 


354      IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS 

Troubles  That  Occur  in  Finishing  and  Printing. 

The  colors  may  be  faded,  regularly  or  irregularly,  in  the  finishing, 
due  to  too  great  heat;  moires  may  be  badly  executed,  and  cutting  of 
goods  is  frequent  in  moireing,  as  it  also  is  in  embossing;  goods  may 
be  scorched,  or,  when  they  have  been  singed,  the  black  ends  of  the 
singed  hairs  may  give  a  bad  appearance;  chafe  marks  may  also  ap- 
pear on  the  piece-dyed  goods. 

On  prints,  the  white  grounds  may  be  unduly  tinged  with  color,  or 
the  solid  colors  may  be  mottled,  and  the  density  of  the  colors  may  not 
be  uniform  from  repeat  to  repeat,  or  from  side  to  side. 

Additional  Defects. 

Fabrics  may  slip ;  they  may  have  "pinholes"  in  them  which,  as  for 
umbrella  silks,  may  have  to  be  corrected ;  they  may  lack  in  lustre,  due 
to  quality  of  silk  or  cotton,  or  to  the  dyeing,  or  finishing ;  they  may 
be  badly  folded,  making  creases  and  distorting  the  lay  of  the  pattern ; 
they  may  have  been  so  handled  in  dyeing  as  to  be  full  of  "crows'  feet" ; 
and,  lastly,  they  may  be  rotten  or  tender. 

Things  the  Dyer  is  Responsible  For. 

After  dyeing,  goods  may  have  an  oily  or  soapy  touch,  as  well  as 
a  similar  smell,  and  they  may  also  smell  strongly  of  logwood  or  other 
dyeing  agents,  and  prints  may  smell  of  acetic  acid.  The  color  of  the 
blacks  may  be  rusty,  or  greyish,  and  blacks  and  other  full  colors,  both 
in  dyed  and  printed  goods  and  in  print  warps,  may  crock  or  rub  off. 
The  finish,  too,  may  be  too  glazy  and  of  the  stove-polish  order. 

The  touch  of  the  goods  may  be  boardy,  hard,  or  stiff;  it  may  be 
papery,  or  soft  and  mushy,  or  it  may  have  a  harsh  or  coarse  feeling. 

When  goods  are  dyed  in  the  piece,  the  color  may  collect  more  at 
one  end  or  at  one  side,  so  that  these  will  be  of  different  shades.  Fin- 
ishing on  a  tenter  frame  or  on  a  can  dryer  will  give  different  results. 
The  matching  of  colors,  too,  is  no  exact  science,  and  approximate 
matches  are  all  that  a  dyer  can  promise,  so  that  each  dip  will  prob- 
ably vary  in  shade  from  the  preceding  one.  If  the  amount  of  boiling- 
off  given  the  piece  is  too  little,  it  will  lack  in  lustre,  and  the  nature 
of  the  silk  used  will  also  greatly  affect  the  brilliancy.  If  goods  are 
too  hairy,  they  may  be  singed,  but  this  is  a  process  to  be  avoided  if 
possible.  Hairiness  is  much  increased  by  the  electricity  produced  in 
the  weaving  and  other  processes. 

Imperfect  Goods  Must  be  Stopped. 

Silks  being  generally  dry  finished,  it  follows  that  any  defects  that 
occur  in  them  are  there  to  stay,  and  everything  shows  up  in  them. 
In  well-managed  mills,  therefore,  when  a  damage  is  detected  during 
the  weaving,  the  weaver  is  obliged  to  stop  his  loom,  loosen  his  cloth, 
and  pick  out  all  the  filling  back  to  the  defect,  and  then  weave  it  over 
again.  This  is  expensive  in  time,  labor,  production,  and  material. 


IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS       355 

Requirements  for  a  Cloth  Examiner. 

A  good  cloth  examiner  is  necessary,  and  they  are  not  easy  to  find. 
He  must  thoroughly  understand  weaving,  and  know  exactly  the  cause 
of  each  defect,  so  as  to  be  able  to  explain  to  the  weavers  what  the 
trouble  is.  He  must  be  severe  on  those  needlessly  making  bad  work, 
but  if  too  exacting,  and  demanding  impossible  perfection,  the  good 
weavers  will  get  disgusted  and  leave.  Weavers  soon  learn  just  how 
good  their  pieces  must  be  to  pass  the  examiner  without  criticism. 

Troubles  of  Various  Kinds. 

Schappe  or  spun  silks  are  liable  to  have  sundry  black  hairs  in  them, 
that,  so  far  as  possible,  must  be  picked  out,  and  certain  stock  is  in- 
jured by  the  presence  of  odd  cotton  fibres. 

Many  defects  are  very  obscure,  and  much  skill,  knowledge,  and 
patient  effort  are  required  to  ascertain  how  they  occur. 

Some  fibres,  such  as  certain  tussahs,  will  shrink  considerably,  and, 
if  this  is  not  well  understood  and  allowed  for,  serious  differences  in 
width  and  length,  and  consequent  cost,  will  result. 

The  apparent  color  is  often  much  affected  by  the  twist  of  the  ma- 
terial, and  the  dyer  is  frequently  blamed  for  what  is  really  the  fault 
of  the  spinner.  Ill  judged  color  combinations  may  make  the  shades 
objectionable  to  the  eye. 

In  the  piece  dyeing  of  cotton-filled  fabrics,  the  dyer  not  infre- 
quently gets  the  cotton  of  a  distinctly  different  shade  from  the  silk, 
thus  giving  the  goods  a  raw  and  coarse  appearance.  This  cannot  be 
guaranteed  against,  and,  anyway,  the  same  color  on  different  kinds 
of  fibre,  or  on  different  twists  of  the  same  fibre,  will  look  different 
owing  to  the  varying  play  of  light. 

Heavy  and  Light  Goods. 

In  even  the  most  carefully  made  lines  of  goods,  a  respectable  per- 
centage will  be  heavier  than  the  average,  and  others  will  be  lighter 
than  they  were  designed  to  be.  Salesmen  are  prone  to  cut  type  sam- 
ples from  the  best  and  heaviest  pieces  they  can  find,  thus  leading  the 
customers  to  expect  goods  better  than  they  will  get,  and  which  gives 
them  ground  for  rejecting  the  deliveries.  Customers,  to  whom  extra 
heavy  pieces  have  been  delivered,  will  often  hold  cuttings  of  them, 
and  claim  that  subsequent  deliveries  should  be  up  to  that  standard. 

Salesmen  never  like  to  have  the  lighter  pieces  delivered  to  their 
own  special  customers,  and  so  the  light  pieces  are  often  laid  aside 
until,  at  the  end  of  the  season,  a  fine  job  lot  of  light  pieces  of  all} 
kinds,  colors,  and  quantities  will  have  been  accumulated,  to  be  sold 
later  on  at  sixty  cents  on  the  dollar.  The  only  way  to  do,  is  to  keep 
shipping  out  the  light  pieces,  and,  though  return  express  charges  may 
often  have  to  be  paid,  the  expense  on  this  score  is  trifling,  as  compared 
with  having  the  goods  left  in  stock.  If  10  per  cent,  of  the  goods  are 


356      IMPERFECTIONS  IN  MANUFACTURED  GOODS 

light  send  out  one  light  piece  in  every  ten,  and  similarly  with  the 
heavy  pieces.  The  buyer  thus  gets  his  fair  average,  and  that  is  all  he 
is  entitled  to.  If  the  buyer  needs  the  color  in  which  the  light  piece 
is,  when  he  gets  it,  he  will  keep  it,  and  if  he  does  not  need  a  color  he 
will  find  some  pretext  for  sending  it  back,  even  if  it  was  a  piece  regu- 
lar in  every  respect. 

All  Mills  Make  Some  Imperfect  Goods. 

When  department  men  and  salesmen  are  angry  and  disconcerted 
over  merchandise  imperfections,  let  them  reflect  that  every  other  dis- 
tributer is  in  exactly  the  same  position,  and  that  they  are  better  off 
in  that  respect  than  many  others;  and  let  them  feel  that  a  certain 
amount  of  imperfection  must  be  discounted,  and  that  similar  troubles 
exist  in  the  goods  delivered  by  every  one  of  their  competitors.  Let 
the  buyers  learn  this,  too,  and,  by  being  decent  and  reasonable,  avoid 
forcing  absolutely  unnecessary  losses  upon  the  manufacturers. 


XXXIII 

CLAIMS,   CANCELLATIONS   AND   RETURNS 


Some  of  the  most  serious  abuses  connected  with  the  business  of 
manufacturing  and  distributing  textile  merchandise,  may  be  grouped 
under  the  heading  of  Claims,  Cancellations  and  Returns.  In  fact,  were 
it  not  for  these  drains  upon  the  profits  of  the  business,  the  making  of 
money  in  the  manufacture  of  fabrics  would  be  a  far  simpler  affair 
than  it  now  is. 

It  is,  of  course,  to  the  more  or  less  unjustifiable  claims,  etc.,  that  I 
refer,  for  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  buyers  have  also  rights,  and 
were  they  not  free  to  claim,  reject,  and  cancel,  when  the  circumstances 
fully  warranted  it,  there  would  be  no  limit  to  what  they  might  be 
called  on  to  endure  in  the  way  of  imperfect  goods  or  late  deliveries. 

What  Has  the  Buyer  a  Right  to  Expect? 

Taking  up,  first,  the  matter  of  claims,  we  are  at  once  confronted 
with  the  question  as  to  what  the  buyer  has  a  right  to  expect  in  refer- 
ence to  the  perfection  of  the  merchandise.  It  is  true  that  every  order 
that  is  accepted  implies  the  delivery  of  perfect  goods  in  the  filling  of 
it,  but  was  there  ever  a  piece  made  of  absolutely  perfect  goods? 
Possibly  so,  but  such  perfection  is  so  rare  as  to  be  negligible,  and 
the  best  that  we  can  ask  for,  or  promise,  is  that  a  piece  of  goods  shall 
be  commercially  perfect. 

This  presupposes  that  some  minor  defects  may  exist  and  must  be 
expected,  and  that  their  presence  should  not  be  made  the  basis  for  a 
claim.  Were  everything  to  be  claimed  on,  the  deductions  thus  made 
would  be  so  considerable  as  to  eliminate  any  possible  chance  of  profit 
in  the  goods,  and,  in  truth,  this  is  frequently  the  case. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten,  either,  that  the  prices  made  on  goods, 
and  the  extremely  narrow  margins  of  profit  on  which  they  are  sold, 
ignore  entirely  the  element  of  losses  from  claims,  cancellations  and 


358          CLAIMS,  CANCELLATIONS  AND  RETURNS 

returns,  and  that,  if  these  chances  of  loss  should  be  discounted,  the 
average  of  prices  would  have  to  be  on  a  distinctly  higher  plane. 

True  Test  of  Reasonableness  of  Claims. 

The  true  test  for  determining  whether  claims  are  reasonable  or  not 
is  whether  the  buyer  is  likely  to  suffer  any  loss,  or  serious  inconve- 
nience, in  using  or  marketing  the  merchandise  claimed  upon. 

If  this  test  be  applied,  it  will  be  seen  how  few  allowances  would 
have  to  be  made  as  compared  with  the  present  practice.  Cutters-up 
claim  on  all  sorts  *of  trifling  things,  and  then  compel  their  cutters  to 
so  arrange  their  patterns  as  to  cut  them  into  the  garment  without 
loss,  thus  making  a  profit  of  the  amount  claimed.  Many  allowances 
are  made  to  retailers,  and  the  goods  go  on  the  counters  and  are  dis- 
tributed without  the  consumers  getting  a  fraction  of  concession  in 
price,  or  being  a  bit  the  wiser.  Such  claims  are  just  so  much  addi- 
tional profit  for  the  buyer,  and  have  in  practice  become  a  regular 
"graft." 

In  a  previous  article,  I  discussed  in  detail  the  very  numerous  im- 
perfections to  which  silk  goods  are  liable,  and  the  causes  of  them, 
so  it  is  not  necessary  again  to  traverse  that  ground. 

Different  Causes  Entailing  Claims. 

Claims  fall  into  a  few  general  groups,  such  as  claims  for  short 
length,  narrow  width,  spots  or  holes,  manufacturing  imperfections, 
slipping  of  the  threads,  streaks  or  shadiness  in  warp  or  weft,  uneven- 
ness  or  cloudiness  in  the  dye,  inferiority  of  quality,  chafe  marks,  ten- 
derness, etc. 

Some  goods,  from  their  nature,  always  invite  trouble,  and  sellers 
should  carefully  draw  the  attention  of  buyers  to  such  matters  when 
business  is  being  booked.  Thus,  goods  with  markedly  disproportion- 
ate amounts  of  warp  and  filling  will  often  slip  easily;  if  too  little 
material,  or  too  much  weighting,  be  used  they  may  be  tender ;  chame- 
leon taffetas  have  a  strong  tendency  to  streak  in  from  the  edges ;  black- 
and-white  hair-lines  and  fine  pin-checks,  show  specky,  etc. 

Manufacturers  should  guard  carefully  against  ever  putting  fabrics 
on  the  market  that  are  not  good  merchandise,  such  as  cloths  that  are 
too  tender,  or  that  slip  too  much  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  are 
intended,  etc.  If  they  do  so,  they  have  only  themselves  to  blame  if 
trouble  follows,  for  they  must  remember  that  retailers  of  reputation 
cannot  be  expected  to  put  goods  on  their  counters  that  are  grossly  de- 
fective in  character. 

Piece-dyed  goods  that  are  very  unevenly  colored  can  properly  be 
rejected  by  the  buyer.  One  side,  or  one  end,  of  the  piece  may  be 
darker  than  the  other,  making  it  impossible,  almost,  for  the  dress- 
maker to  use  it. 

Chafe  marks  in  pieces  cannot  always  be  avoided  by  the  dyer,  and 


CLAIMS,  CANCELLATIONS  AND  RETURNS          359 

he  will  give  no  guarantee  on  the  subject,  and,  as  they  are  incident  to 
the  process,  it  is  not  fair  that  claims  should  be  made  on  the  maker 
on  this  score  unless  the  defects  are  excessive  in  amount. 

To  subject  goods  to  claims  for  narrowness,  the  difference  in  width 
should  be  material.  In  the  cases'  of  fabrics  of  an  elastic  character, 
such  as  crepes  or  crepons,  it  is  hard  to  say  what  the  width  really  is ; 
within  limits,  it  is  almost  a  matter  of  opinion. 

Similar  remarks  will  apply  to  the  length  of  the  pieces,  and  it  is 
easy  to  give  a  piece  an  undue  stretch.  Probably  the  fairest  way 
to  determine  the  length  is  the  method  largely  used  in  the  woolen  in- 
dustry, that  of  drawing  the  goods  over  a  long  table,  and  measuring 
them  when  so  drawn  out,  as  it  is  in  that  shape,  and  at  that  stretch, 
that  they  will  be  finally  cut  up  for  garments. 

Allowances  Should  be  Kept  at  a  Minimum. 

While  all  claims  should  be  received  and  investigated  with  an  open 
mind  and  a  desire  to  be  fair,  all  sellers  should  fight  hard  to  reduce 
these  losses  to  their  proper  proportions.  Badly  managed  mills  will 
have  many  defective  goods,  and  well  managed  mills  may  have  few, 
but,  with  the  best  of  management,  imperfections  must  and  will  occur. 

Selling  Agents  Expect  Impossible  Perfection. 

Much  of  the  trouble  that  now  exists,  in  the  large  amount  of  claims 
that  every  business  is  called  on  to  stand,  has  arisen  from  the  fact 
that  the  people  at  the  selling  end  often  expect  from  their  mills  an  im- 
possible perfection,  and,  not  being  well  enough  informed  themselves 
to  judge  what  claims  should  be  contested  and  what  should  not,  they 
have  fallen  into  the  habit  of  making  allowances  on  practically  every- 
thing claimed  on. 

Cancellations  a  Heavy  Burden. 

The  cancellation  of  orders,  given  to  a  mill  for  execution,  is  a 
custom  that  outrages  both  business  sense  and  honesty,  and  is  a  fear- 
ful burden  on  the  manufacturers. 

They  spend  time  and  money  in  getting  up  their  sample  collections, 
and  then  pay  the  salaries  and  traveling  expenses  of  the  salesmen  to 
secure  the  business.  Having  booked  the  orders,  they  must  then  as- 
sume binding  contracts  for  the  raw  material  with  which  to  make  them, 
and  must  proceed  to  mount  looms  and  spend  much  money  in  the  vari- 
ous processes  of  manufacture  as  the  goods  are  being  brought  forward. 
When  made,  the  orders  must  also  be  held  ready  for  delivery  till  the 
stated  time  has  arrived. 

At  any  time  during  this  period,  all,  or  part,  of  any  order  is  likely 
to  be  cancelled,  and  with  probably  no  truthful  reason  given. 

Motives  for  Cancellations. 

The  motives  for  the  cancellations  may  be  various.  There  may  have 
been  a  change  of  buyers ;  or  too  much  stock  has  been  bought ;  or  the 


360          CLAIMS,  CANCELLATIONS  AND  RETURNS 

buyer  wishes  to  increase  his  line  in  other  directions,  so  has  to  de- 
crease in  this ;  or  prices  have  fallen  and  he  can  buy  cheaper  elsewhere ; 
or  he  may  find  he  has  misjudged  his  styles  or  colors;  or  there  may 
be  some  personal  reason,  or  what  not.  Perhaps  as  common  a  reason 
as  any  is  that  he  may  have  instructions  from  his  financial  superiors 
to  cancel  everything  that  he  can,  on  account  of  office  reasons. 
Not  one  of  these  reasons  is  a  justifiable  cause. 

How  the  Manufacturer  is  Hurt. 

Meantime,  the  manufacturer  has  committed  himself  to  an  expen- 
sive preparation  of  fabrics,  patterns  and  colors,  made  at  his  customer's 
selection,  many  of  which  styles  he  would  never  have  dreamed  of  mak- 
ing if  he  were  stocking  them  at  his  own  risk.  If  the  raw-silk  market 
has  fallen,  he  may  also  suffer  heavy  loss  in  that  way,  and  orders  are 
cancelled  freely  on  a  falling  market  and  infrequently  on  a  rising  one. 

Contract  Breakers  Should  be  Sued. 

The  seller  may  or  may  not  have  a  signed  contract,  or  it  may 
be  a  well  drawn  one  or  a  loosely  drawn  one,  but  there  would  rarely 
be  any  difficulty  in  proving  that  the  goods  had  been  duly  ordered 
by  the  properly  accredited  buyer  of  the  house. 

In  such  a  case,  the  rational  and  proper  course  would  be  to  refuse 
to  accept  the  cancellation,  and,  by  due  process  of  law,  if  necessary, 
compel  the  buyer  to  live  up  to  his  contract. 

How  often  is  this  done?  Occasionally,  it  may  be,  with  some  house 
regarding  whose  business  indifference  is  felt,  but  with  important  cus- 
tomers a  real  fight  is  rarely  made;  sham  fights,  if  any,  are  the  rule. 

Responsibility  of  the  Selling  Agents. 

When  raw-silk  prices  crumble,  and  values  of  goods  fall  correspond- 
ingly, as  will  happen  during  times  of  panic,  the  bulk  of  nearly  every- 
thing on  order  will  be  cancelled  by  the  buyers,  and  this  cancelling  has, 
in  the  past,  been  generally  allowed  by  the  selling  agents,  causing  the 
mills  to  suffer  untold  losses,  and  being  the  real  cause  of  the  bank- 
ruptcy of  many  of  them. 

Manufacturers  have  to  deliver  what  they  sell,  and  can  in  no  wise 
advance  the  price  of  goods  once  sold,  nor  are  they  permitted  to  back 
out  of  their  raw  material  engagements.  Why  should  they  continue  to 
allow  themselves  to  be  thus  held  between  the  upper  and  the  nether 
millstone  till  their  existence  is  crushed  out? 

If,  before  an  order  has  been  put  in  work,  a  buyer  wished  to  modify 
it,  or  even  cancel  it  for  some  reasonable  cause,  although  it  might  be 
somewhat  of  a  hardship,  there  would  be  little  trouble  in  so  arranging 
it,  but,  after  it  has  once  been  put  in  process,  no  change  should  be 
allowed. 

Underhand  Methods  Employed. 

Some  houses  practice  a  peculiarly  mean  trick,  in  that  they  have 


CLAIMS,  CANCELLATIONS  AND  RETURNS          361 

copies  of  orders,  given  by  their  buyers  to  the  travelers  who  have  called 
on  them,  sent  on  to  their  New  York  representatives  to  see  if  they  can 
buy  them  there  any  cheaper.  Many  of  these  city  buyers,  to  show  their 
superior  smartness,  will  then  try,  by  hook  or  by  crook,  by  lies  or 
promises,  to  get  concessions  from  the  stated  prices.  In  this  way,  the 
purchaser  plays  his  buyers  one  against  the  other,  in  the  hope  of  profit- 
ing somewhere. 

Withholding  Assortments  on  Orders. 

Another  way  of  cancelling  goods  is  to  withhold  assortments.  A 
buyer  contracts  for  a  quantity  of  goods;  color  assortment  for  all,  or 
part,  to  be  given  later,  sometimes  at  a  stated  date.  If  the  goods  are 
to  be  skein  dyed,  and  the  giving  of  the  instructions  as  to  colors  is 
delayed,  the  manufacturer  cannot  proceed  with  the  order,  which  is 
then  of  practically  no  use  to  him.  If  the  goods  are  to  be  dyed  in  the 
piece,  he  can  prepare  them,  but  is  unable  to  get  them  dyed  up  for 
delivery. 

The  buyer  has  contracted  for  the  goods  to  take  advantage  of  a 
low  market  or  an  attractive  price.  If  he  has  had  occasion  to  reverse 
his  judgment,  he  will  never  give  his  delayed  assortment  if  he  can 
possibly  help  it. 

Others,  who  only  want  50  pieces  of  goods,  will  order  250  pieces, 
if  a  lower  price  can  be  got  thereby,  giving  assortments  for  the  50 
pieces  at  the  start,  and  will  never  take,  or  intend  to  take,  the  remain- 
ing 200. 

Orders  of  Cutters  Are  a  Joke. 

With  the  cutting-up  trade,  orders  are  not  even  seriously  regarded. 
They  are  almost  a  joke.  The  most  that  can  be  said  of  them  is  that 
they  show  an  expression  of  interest  on  the  part  of  the  buyer  in  the 
qualities  ordered.  Should  the  market  rise  sharply,  however,  these  same 
buyers  expect  to  have  their  orders  filled,  and  they  do  have  them  filled. 

Cancellations  for  Late  Delivery. 

Many  cancellations  for  late  delivery,  while  technically  right,  are 
only  so  because  sufficient  time  has  not  been  given  the  makers  to  bring 
forward  the  orders,  and  it  is  a  contant  study  with  buyers  to  fight 
for  the  minimum  of  time,  so  that,  as  the  chances  are  that  the  delivery 
in  whole  or  in  part  will  be  a  little  late,  they  will  then  be  in  a  position 
to  decline  the  goods  should  they  so  desire.  Then,  if  they  wish,  they 
may  consent  to  accept  the  goods  at  a  substantial  concession  in  price. 

Sellers  who  have  been  finessed  against  in  this  way  ought  to  be  very 
careful  never  again  to  concede  dangerously  short  delivery  time  to  the 
offending  house.  Better  pass  the  business  than  take  the  risk. 

United  Action   Required. 

To  grapple  with  such  a  serious  evil,  united  action  by  all  the  sell- 
ing offices  is  urgently  needed,  and  there  should  be  a  well-defined  pol- 


362  CLAIMS,  CANCELLATIONS  AND  RETURNS 

icy  agreed  upon,  having  for  its  aim  the  immediate  bringing  about  of 
a  state  of  affairs  which  would  exempt  no  one  from  the  obligation  of 
keeping  a  contract.  Credit  men  have  their  associations  and  discuss 
the  standing  of  the  various  houses,  and  their  manner  of  doing  busi- 
ness, and  the  sales  managers  could  do  the  same. 

Side  Lights  on  the  Situation. 

At  the  present  time,  houses  that  have  every  disposition  to  enforce 
their  contracts  are  restrained  from  doing  so,  because  other  large  com- 
peting houses  permit  their  customers  to  break  theirs. 

During  a  recent  panic,  when  prices  were  breaking  heavily,  cases 
like  the  following  arose.  A  mill,  selling  direct,  refuses  to  allow  Smith, 
a  retailer  in  a  large  Western  city,  to  cancel.  Smith  says  he  would 
not  want  to  cancel,  but  that  his  competitors — Jones,  Brown,  and 
Robinson — had  been  allowed  to  cancel  by  the  houses  from  whom  they 
bought;  that,  if  forced  to  do  so,  he  would  take  the  goods  he  ordered, 
paying,  of  course,  more  for  them  than  what  his  competitors  could 
then  buy  them  at,  but  that  he  feels  that  if  he  is  not  to  be  in  as  good 
a  position  regarding  cancelling  as  those  who  had  bought  elsewhere, 
he,  in  turn,  would  in  future  have  to  buy  elsewhere  himself.  He  was 
permitted  to  cancel. 

Standard  Sales  Contracts  and  Their  Enforcement. 

It  is,  as  stated,  much  to  be  desired  that  sellers  would  come  to- 
gether to  take  united  action  in  the  premises,  and  that  a  standard  form 
of  contract  of  sale,  comprehensive  in  its  nature,  covering  every  pos- 
sible debatable  point,  and  legally  enforceable,  should  be  adopted.  Then, 
a  policy  of  contract  enforcing  should  be  judiciously  entered  upon 
and  firmly  pushed  to  its  logical  end. 

If,  at  the  same  time,  steps  could  be  taken  for  the  formation  of  a 
commercial  textile  court,  or  tribunal,  for  the  prompt  settlement  of 
disputes  over  merchandise,  a  great  step  forward  would  have  been 
taken. 


XXXIV 

THE  QUESTION  OF  PRICES  TO  USE  IN  STOCK-TAKING 


When  the  annual  balance  sheet  is  being  made  for  a  mill,  one  of 
the  most  important  preliminaries  is  the  stock-taking,  or  the  record- 
ing of  the  amounts  and  the  values  of  the  various  classes  of  stock  on 
hand.  For  this  purpose  it  is  a  fundamental  necessity  that  a  proper 
valuation  be  put  on  the  raw  material. 

Objects  of  Stock  Taking. 

The  objects  to  be  attained  by  this  periodic  tabulation  of  assets 
and  liabilities  are  both  to  know  the  exact  financial  status  of  the  con- 
cern, and  to  determine  the  amount  of  profit  or  loss  made  since  the 
previous  stock-taking. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  a  mathematically  exact  result  is  much 
to  be  desired,  but  this  can  never  be,  as  the  values  put  on  the  assets 
must  always  be  a  question  which  must  be  decided  according  to  in- 
dividual views  and  opinions. 

The  opinions,  too,  that  are  held  on  this  subject  may  often  be  in- 
terested ones,  consciously  or  unconsciously;  great  ignorance  of  cor- 
rect methods  is  frequently  displayed,  and  hap-hazard  pricings  of  stock 
are  very  common. 

The  pricing  of  the  stock  may  be  done  by  a  partner  or  principal 
of  a  business,  and  partners  may  disagree;  or  it  may  be  left  to  the 
judgment  of  a  superintendent  or  trusted  subordinate. 

Kinds  of  Goods  to  be  Enumerated. 

In  a  silk  mill,  the  stock  to  be  recorded,  outside  of  mill,  machinery, 
supplies,  etc., — resolves  itself  into  a  number  of  broad  groups.  These 
may  be  as  follows : — contracts  for  silk  not  yet  due  for  delivery ;  con- 
tracts due  but  undelivered,  being  held  on  call  by  the  raw-silk  mer- 
chants, subject  to  interest ;  raw-silk  on  hand ;  thrown  silk,  and  silk  in 


364  PRICES  TO   USE  IN  STOCK  TAKING 

process  of  throwing;  silk  in  process  of  dyeing;  dyed  silk  of  various 
weightings,  sizes,  colors,  etc. ;  silk  wound  and  in  winding ;  silk  on  quills 
and  in  quilling;  silk  in  warping  and  beaming;  warps  made;  warps 
drawn  in  or  twisted;  warps  in  the  looms;  woven  cloth  on  looms; 
unfinished  goods;  goods  finished,  etc.,  etc. 

Apportioning  the  Costs. 

As  the  silk  advances  from  one  process  to  another  its  value  in- 
creases, and  the  collective  costs  of  the  processes,  together  with  an 
allowance  for  the  wastes  made  in  them,  and  their  proper  share  of  the 
overhead  charges,  must  be  added  to  the  cost  of  the  raw-silk  when 
figuring  out  its  value. 

When  silks  have  been  weighted,  due  allowance  must  be  made  for 
this  increase.  Thus,  if  there  were  22  oz.  dyed  tram  in  bundles,  and 
if  the  silk  were  priced  at  $4.00  net,  the  throwing  35  cents,  waste 
in  throwing  10  cents,  and  dyeing  80  cents,  making  a  total  of  $5.25, 
the  price  put  on  it  should  be  5.25  x  16-^-22 =$3. 82  per  pound,  plus 
its  share  of  the  general  expenses. 

This  is  the  ordinary  and  well  understood  method  of  figuring  the 
value  of  silk  in  its  dyed  condition,  and  there  should  be  no  trouble 
in  arriving  at  the  proper  proportionate  value  if  any  reasonable  care 
is  used,  but  it  is  not  in  regard  to  these  things  that  the  real  questions 
arise.  The  difficult  problem  to  solve  is  what  basic  prices  should  be 
put  on  the  raw  materials,  and  what  values  should  be  attached  to  silks 
in  a  partially  manufactured  condition  that  are  not  in  the  direction 
of  current  requirements. 

How  Personal  Interests  May  Affect  Matters. 

A  fair  and  logical  determination  of  these  points  is  further  com- 
plicated by  the  way  in  which  various  interests  in  the  organization 
may  be  affected  by  them,  and  apparently  good  arguments  may  be 
advanced  for  quite  different  methods  of  treating  them. 

The  persons  whose  interests  may  be  affected  in  this  matter  will 
be  partners  or  stockholders,  and  mill  managers  or  others,  whose  com- 
pensation is  made  up,  in  part,  of  a  percentage  of  the  profits  of  the 
business.  Those  who  have  specially  to  do  with  the  mill  will  also  be 
anxious  to  have  a  good  showing  made  by  the  returns. 

These  different  interests  may  be  by  no  means  identical. 

If  the  season's  business  has  been  profitable,  the  owners,  or  repre- 
sentatives of  the  shareholders,  may  desire  to  scale  down  the  value 
of  the  stock  so  as  to  cut  down  the  amounts  that  would  come  to  some 
of  the  subordinates  who  were  entitled  to  a  percentage  of  the  profits. 
They  would  argue  that,  as  these  latter  do  not  pay  in  a  percentage 
when  an  actual  loss  is  made,  they  would  be  only  casting  an  anchor 
to  the  windward  in  case  the  next  season  should  prove  unprofitable. 

Again,  if  the  business  had  done  extremely   well,  the  managers, 


PRICES  TO   USE  IN  STOCK  TAKING  365 

in  case  it  were  a  stock  company,  might  dislike  to  have  the  books  show 
just  how  much  profit  had  been  made,  as  the  shareholders  would  then 
demand  a  bigger  dividend,  while  they,  the  managers,  would  like  to 
pay  just  the  regular  dividend  and  keep  the  remainder  for  the  active 
uses  of  the  concern,  or  as  a  reserve  against  the  lean  years  that  com- 
monly follow  the  fat  ones.  By  taking  the  goods  at  the  store  and  the 
materials  at  the  mill  on  a  sufficiently  low  basis,  all  these  extra  profits 
could  be  covered  up. 

If  the  concern  had  not  been  doing  well,  and  there  was  fear  that 
its  credit  might  be  questioned,  those  in  charge  might  think  it  judi- 
cious to  put  very  full  values  on  the  stock,  so  that  the  books  would 
show  a  healthy  trend  of  affairs,  and  they  would  thus  be  enabled  to 
make  a  satisfactory  statement  to  their  raw-silk  friends  and  to  the 
mercantile  agencies. 

When  the  active  managers  of  the  business  do  not  hold  the  finan- 
cial control,  they  might  fear  that  a  bad  showing  would  cost  them  their 
official  positions,  and,  therefore,  whenever  it  might  seem  necessary, 
they  would  be  interested  in  boosting  up  the  values.  This  is  fre- 
quently the  case  with  mill  superintendents,  and,  as  the  valuing  of 
mill  assets  is  often  left  to  these  men  by  those  who  feel  that  they  do 
not  have  sufficient  technical  knowledge  to  properly  appraise  them 
themselves,  such  prices  as  are  applied  should  be  subjected  to  careful 
scrutiny. 

Sales  managers,  and  others  at  the  selling  end,  who  are  interested 
in  the  profits  or  who  are  desirous  that  a  good  showing  should  be  made, 
are  equally  liable  to  overvalue  the  manufactured  goods. 

Sometimes  corporation  officers,  when  business  has  been  profitable, 
will  scale  down  the  assets  so  as  to  show  no  profit,  or  even  a  loss,  not 
only  for  the  purpose  of  euchreing  participants  out  of  their  share  of 
the  profits,  but  to  cause  a  decline  in  the  value  of  the  stock,  and  so 
to  enable  themselves  and  their  friends  to  buy  it  in  at  a  price  far  below 
its  real  value  as  demonstrated  to  them  by  the  earnings  of  the  mill. 

Necessity  of  a  Settled  Policy. 

In  view  of  these  many  and  conflicting  interests,  and  of  the  chang- 
ing circumstances  that  may  sometimes  cause  a  desire  to  unduly  over- 
value the  stock,  and  at  other  times  to  under-value  it,  it  is  of  real 
importance  that  some  settled  policy  be  adopted  for  the  pricing  of  the 
stock,  both  at  the  mill  and  at  the  store,  which  will  be  a  continuous 
one.  Thus,  whether  the  method  be  the  best  or  not,  it  will  at  all  events 
be  freed  from  outside  bias,  and  the  result  of  the  operations  during  the 
period  under  review  will  be  fairly  shown. 

A  knowledge  of  the  stock-taking  policy  of  the  house,  as  well  as 
the  methods  employed  in  figuring  the  annual  depreciation  of  plant,  is 
of  first-class  importance  to  each  one  connected  with  the  business  whose 
compensation  is  derived  in  whole  or  in  part  from  the  profits,  and  it 


366  PRICES  TO  USE  IN  STOCK  TAKING 

is  a  matter  on  which  he  should  have  the  right  to  require  information. 
When  such  percentage  arrangements  are  being  entered  into,  these 
questions  are  very  pertinent  ones  to  ask. 

Defrauding  Subordinates  of  Their  Profits. 

It  is  notorious,  in  all  lines  of  business,  that  many  employers  who 
have  promised  a  certain  share  of  profits  to  employees,  cannot  bear  to 
see  them  earn  more  than  the  most  modest  amounts,  and,  therefore, 
when  business  has  been  good  and  their  share  of  profits  would  be  sub- 
stantial, they  often  cheat  them  out  of  the  bulk  of  what  they  are  en- 
titled to  by  under-valuing  the  assets. 

Skepticism  When  Losses  Have  Been  Made. 

Employees,  on  the  other  hand,  who  are  entitled  to  share  in  the 
returns,  oan  seldom  be  made  to  understand  that  the  business  has  been 
run  at  a  loss  instead  of  at  a  profit,  and,  therefore,  after  bad  seasons, 
when  they  are  told  that  there  is  nothing  coming  to  them,  they  are 
often  not  slow  to  express  their  opinion  in  private  that  the  firm  has 
gouged  them  out  of  profits  that  they  should  rightfully  have  had. 

It  is  therefore  desirable  that,  so  far  as  may  be,  there  should  be 
left  but  little  room  for  controversy  on  this  important  subject. 

Basic  Costs  for  Different  Silks. 

In  pricing  the  mill  assets,  it  is  a  proper  method  to  take  a  basic  cost 
for  each  class  of  silk — Italians — Japans — Chinas — Tsatlees — Cantons 
— Tussahs — etc.,  etc.,  and  from  these  work  out  the  values  of  the  dif- 
ferent lots  in  their  various  stages  of  manufacture. 

To  get  the  proper  basic  prices  is  the  rub,  for  the  method  of  valuing 
may  be  most  varied. 

Methods  of  Valuing  the  Raw-Silk. 

The  actual  cost  of  the  raw-silk  in  each  individual  lot,  old  or  new, 
may  be  used;  or  the  costs  of  all  the  regular  silks  on  hand  (French, 
Italians,  Japans,  Chinas,  etc.)  may  be  averaged  up  for  each  class  and 
taken.  This  digging  out  of  the  raw  costs  of  all  the  dyed  lots  is  a 
very  tedious  matter. 

Then,  a  price  may  be  taken  for  each  class  which  represents  the 
market  of  the  day;  or,  if  the  market  be  a  rising  one  or  a  falling  one, 
what  it  is  likely  may  be  the  market  level  in  the  immediate  future. 
These  may  be,  or  may  not  be,  averaged  up  with  the  undelivered  con- 
tracts. There  is  frequently  a  handsome  profit  or  a  smart  loss  in  such 
contracts,  and  these  may  be  included  or  excluded  from  the  accounting 
as  interest  dictates. 

Many  people  never  include  contracts,  even  when  due  for  delivery 
and  being  carried  by  the  raw-silk  people,  arguing  that  the  future  must 
take  care  of  them,  and,  as  they  do  not  appear  in  the  ledger,  that  the 
stock-taking  should  not  be  burdened  with  them. 


PRICES  TO   USE  IN  STOCK  TAKING  367 

There  is  the  question  of  prices  for  the  various  grades  of  silks  of 
the  same  nature.  Thus,  a  mill  may  have  booked  orders  for  a  full 
season's  business  on  a  line  of  fabrics  requiring,  say,  an  Extra  Japan 
Filature  for  warp,  and  a  fair  No.  i  Japan  Filature  for  filling;  at  the 
same  time,  there  may  be  on  hand  more  or  less  Double  Extra  and  Best 
No.  i  Filatures,  and  best  Re-reels,  all  of  a  suitable  size,  and  which  it  is 
more  than  likely  will  be  worked  up  into  the  goods  sold,  rather  than 
be  allowed  to  remain  in  stock  eating  up  interest.  Should  these  be  taken 
at  the  values  dictated  by  their  use,  or  values  based  upon  their  quality? 
This  question  is  often  answered  by  mills,  whose  grades  of  silk  are 
not  very  diverse,  by  putting  one  price  on  all  Japan  tram  stock,  one 
on  all  Japan  organzine  stock,  and  similarly  for  silk  of  other  natures. 

Then  comes  another  question.  A  mill,  in  the  autumn,  has  bought 
and  contracted  ahead  heavily  for  raw-silk  at  an  average  price,  say,  of 
$4.00  a  pound,  and  has  sold  its  production  up  to  the  end  of  April  on 
that  basis.  When  January  first  arrives,  there  will  be  large  quantities 
of  this  silk  on  hand,  and  much  on  contract,  and  the  market  then  may 
be  $5.00  a  pound.  If  the  silk  was  costed  at  current  market  value  the 
effect  would  be  to  throw  a  dollar  a  pound  profit,  on  all  the  silk  of  this 
lot,  into  the  period  just  closing,  and  to  make  a  corresponding  loss 
appear  in  the  period  just  beginning,  whereas,  if  taken  at  its  purchase 
price,  it  would  neither  inflate  the  one  or  diminish  the  other. 

Again,  a  mill  may  be  only  partially  supplied  with  silk  for  the 
season,  and  it  will  have  to  estimate  how  much  it  may  have  to  pay  for 
the  additional  supplies  required,  and  so  it  arrives  at  an  estimated 
general  average  for  the  cost  of  the  season's  silk.  It  may  then  scale 
the  silk  on  hand  up  or  down  to  correspond  with  such  average,  as  it 
is  on  this  that  it  will  base  the  costs  of  its  goods. 

In  other  cases,  the  prices  ruling  for  goods  may  be  far  lower  than 
the  parity  of  the  raw-silk,  and  there  may  be  no  prospect  of  any 
advance  in  the  goods  price.  A  manufacturer  may  then  argue  that  he 
had  better  take  his  silk  in  stock  at  a  low  enough  price  to  let  him 
out  whole,  when  it  is  worked  up  into  goods  at  the  market  price)  and 
to  let  the  loss  on  the  raw-silk  go  into  the  previous  year's  account. 

Many  other  factors  will  complicate  the  views  that  can  be  taken, 
but  enough  has  been  said  to  indicate  what  great  differences  in  the 
valuation  of  stock  may  be  caused  by  these  differing  points  of  view. 

The  manner  in  which  the  increase  or  decrease  in  values  of  the 
current  stock  of  silk  carried  by  a  mill,  if  figured  at  market  rates,  will 
affect  the  apparent  profits  of  a  season,  is  a  very  baffling  one. 

Difficulty  of  Recommending  a  Course  to  Pursue. 
The  writer  has  much  hesitancy   in   recommending  any   specific 
method  of  stock  taking  as  being  applicable  to  all  cases.     Bearing  in 
mind  that  the  most  important  function  of  the  periodic  accountings 


368  PRICES  TO   USE  IN  STOCK  TAKING 

is  to  show  the  loss  or  gain  during  the  intervening  periods,  there  are 
some  general  propositions  that  may  be  considered  reasonably  sound. 

General  Propositions  that  are  Sound. 

If,  for  instance,  actual  loss  or  profit  has  been  made,  that  loss  or 
gain  should  appear  in  the  records  of  the  period  during  which  it  oc- 
curred. Thus,  if  there  are  undelivered  contracts  on  which  the  market 
has  fallen  or  has  advanced,  this  loss  or  profit  should  be  made  apparent 
in  the  records,  though  not  necessarily  included  in  the  balance  sheet. 
Again,  if,  as  in  the  instance  previously  cited,  the  market  has  advanced 
sharply  and  the  silk  bought  at  $4.00,  and  sold  in  the  form  of  goods 
on  that  basis,  has  advanced  to  $5.00,  such  portion  as  is  needed  to  fill 
the  orders  should  be  figured  at  only  $4.00,  though  any  overplus,  not 
contracted  against,  may  be  put  down  at  the  higher  value. 

The  use  to  which  materials  are  to  be  put,  and  which  of  course 
controls  what  will  be  received  for  them  in  the  shape  of  goods,  should 
be  kept  well  in  mind.  Thus,  if  better  quality  raw-silks,  which  cannot 
readily  be  re-sold,  are  likely  to  be  used  up  in  goods  in  which  lower 
qualities  would  answer  equally  well,  a  potential  loss  is  at  once  appar- 
ent, and  they  should  be  figured  on  the  basis  of  the  lower  cost  silks. 

Odd  lots  of  stuff  on  hand  should  be  carefully  judged  on  their 
merits.  All  mills  have  more  or  less  dyed  and  undyed  material  side- 
tracked, and  many  other  small,  and  often  large,  lots  accumulate. 
Such  lots  eat  up  interest,  cause  expense  for  handling,  storing,  and 
sampling,  become  passe  in  color  and  shop  worn,  and  often  deteriorate 
in  strength.  In  many  cases,  if  they  were  worked  up  into  the  best 
fabric  they  would  make,  the  price  they  would  fetch  would  hardly 
pay  for  the  labor  put  on  them.  According  to  the  conditions  prevailing 
in  each  mill,  such  lots  may  be  made  into  rough  classifications,  gov- 
erned by  their  quantity,  character,  and  condition,  and  certain  specified 
percentages  marked  off  them. 

Apart  from  such  silks  as  are  needed  to  fill  orders  on  the  books,  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  silk  should  be  taken  in  stock  at  its  fair  cost  of 
replacement,  unless,  at  the  time  of  the  stock-taking,  there  should  be 
some  fictitious  rise  of  the  raw  material  market. 

Fluctuating  Stock  Values  Confuse  Matters. 

Another  thing  of  importance  to  consider  is,  how  the  apparent  an- 
nual profit  or  loss  is  affected  by  the  rise  or  fall,  in  quotable  value, 
of  the  underlying  stock  of  silk  that  a  mill  must  always  have  on  hand 
when  running.  While  this  stock,  of  course,  is  constantly  being  re- 
placed, it  has  much  the  character  of  a  dead  stock,  as  the  mill  has  to 
be  making  constant  purchases  on  the  top  of  it  to  take  care  of  its 
current  requirements,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  this  underlying 
stock  is  then  just  as  large  as  ever. 

A  mill  using  100,000  Ibs.  of  silk  a  year,  may  be  carrying  a  stock, 


PRICES  TO   USE  IN  STOCK  TAKING  369 

on  the  average,  of  from  25,000  to  50,000  Ibs.,  on  a  raw  basis.  If  this 
stock  should  one  year  be  up  $1.00  a  pound  and  the  next  year  be  down 
$1.00,  there  would  be  no  loss  or  gain,  but  the  balance  sheets  of  the 
period  would  be  greatly  affected.  When  the  stock  is  taken  each  year, 
it  is  very  desirable  to  figure  out  the  raw  pounds  represented  by  each 
class  of  stock  and,  by  comparing  the  stock  of  one  year  with  the 
other,  it  will  show,  in  great  measure,  how  much  the  apparent  profit 
or  loss  has  been  affected  by  this. 

How  Shall  Goods  be  Priced? 

At  the  selling  end,  just  as  nice  judgment  and  just  as  well  thought 
out  methods  are  needed. 

Shall  goods  be  taken  at  mill  cost,  or  at  selling  price  less  commission 
and  discount?  How  shall  slow  sale  goods  be  priced  compared  with 
quick  sale  goods  of  the  same  cost?  What  allowance  shall  be  made 
to  provide  for  the  cleaning  up  losses  that  are  generally  to  be  looked 
for?  Shall  unsold  goods  on  hand  be  priced  at  the  same  figures  as 
those  sold  and  awaiting  time  of  delivery?  If  not,  what  principle 
shall  be  applied  in  pricing  them?  There  are  lots  of  questions. 

Decide  on  a  Policy  and  Stick  to  it. 

To  sum  up  the  situation,  it  is  very  necessary  for  the  responsible 
heads  of  a  concern  to  go  carefully  over  all  the  details  of  these  matters, 
and  then  to  decide  on  a  standard  policy  to  pursue  in  the  pricing  of 
each  class  of  stock.  This  decision  should  be  put  in  writing  so  that  it 
will  act  as  a  guide  from  year  to  year,  and  so  insure  continuity  of 
policy.  Each  year's  record  of  the  basic  prices  used  for  the  different 
classes  of  silk  should  also  be  preserved. 

If  this  is  done  with  care,  good  judgment,  and  without  bias,  the 
results  of  the  business,  as  set  forth  by  the  annual  balance  sheet, 
should  be  fairly  correct. 


XXXV 

WHAT  TO  FIGURE  FOR  DEPRECIATION  OF  PLANT  . 


There  is  no  question  regarding  the  fact  that  machinery  and 
other  things  in  a  mill  do  wear  out  and  do  depreciate  in  value,  and 
that  a  time  must  come  when  renewals  will  have  to  be  made.  What- 
ever this  depreciation  may  be  on  the  individual  units  in  a  plant,  the 
aggregate  amount  is  always  considerable,  and  a  proper  sum  should 
annually  be  set  aside  for  a  replacement  fund. 

As  this  expense  is  not  one  that  forces  itself  on  the  attention,  it  is 
often  overlooked,  or  underestimated,  and  not  infrequently  disregarded 
altogether. 

Depreciation  a  Matter  of  First-rate  Importance. 

This  matter,  however,  is  one  of  first-rate  importance,  so  much 
so  that  it  visibly  affects  the  cost  of  goods. 

Thus,  if  the  machinery  and  power  plant  in  a  mill  of  500  looms 
represented  a  cost  of  $150,000,  and  if  10%  was  considered  a  proper 
amount  to  write  off  annually  for  depreciation,  the  amount  so  set 
aside  would  be  $15,000.  If,  now,  the  product  of  this  mill  was 
2,000,000  yards  a  year,  the  expense,  on  this  account,  would  be  £4 
cents  per  yard,  not  a  negligible  matter,  by  any  means. 

Keeping  Machinery  at  Highest  Efficiency. 

Any  mill,  intelligently  run,  will  have  every  machine  kept  in  the 
most  perfect  condition,  and  in  a  state  of  the  highest  efficiency.  This 
is  a  necessity  if  a  proper  product  is  to  be  looked  for.  All  expenses 
for  new  castings,  repair  parts,  and  general  up-keep  are  properly 
covered  into  the  ordinary  general  expense  of  the  mill. 

Improvements  Compel  Replacements. 
Allowing  that  all  the  machinery  is  kept  in  fine  condition,  the  time 


DEPRECIATION  OF  PLANT.  371 

comes,  nevertheless,  when  its  usefulness  is  at  an  end,  and  it  has  to  be 
discarded.  The  consequent  replacement  is  forced  on  the  manufacturer 
by  the  numerous  small  improvements  that  have  been  brought  out  as 
the  years  passed,  making  the  later  types  of  machines  more  productive, 
or  less  costly  to  operate,  than  the  older  types.  It  may  also  happen 
that  some  machine  of  a  revolutionary  character,  such  as  the  Northrop 
loom,  comes  on  the  market,  and,  for  certain  lines  of  goods,  puts  every- 
thing else  into  the  background. 

Again,  the  price  of  machinery  may  have  changed,  and  the  cost  of 
replacing  may  be  other  than  had  to  be  paid  originally,  and  thus  the 
ratio  of  depreciation  is  altered. 

The  various  classes  of  machinery  do  not  deteriorate  in  the  same 
proportion,  and  in  some  sorts  of  machinery  improvements  are  few  and 
far  between. 

How  Speeds  Affect  Rate  of  Depreciation. 

The  speeds  at  which  they  are  run  materially  affects  the  question. 
Thus,  spinning  frames  running  at  12,000  R.  P.  M.,  night  and  day, 
will  have  a  much  shorter  life  than  the  same  frames  running  8,000 
R.  P.  M.  on  day  run  only. 

It  is  frequently  good  practice  to  drive  machinery  to  the  very  limit 
of  its  endurance,  regardless  of  how  much  it  may  shorten  its  life,  if 
by  that  means  a  material  amount  of  labor  can  be  saved  without  lower- 
ing the  quality  of  the  product,  as  this  saving  would  amply  justify 
the  renewal  of  the  machinery  at  comparatively  short  periods.  This 
policy  is  much  pursued  in  the  metal  working  trades  where  tools, 
that  with  easy  duty  would  do  good  work  for  a  lifetime,  are  so  driven 
that,  in  three  or  four  years,  they  have  developed  so  much  lost  motion 
that  very  accurate  work  can  no  more  be  had  from  them,  and  they 
are  then  sold  to  less  particular  people  and  new  ones  are  bought. 

Wide  Divergence  of  Views  Regarding  Renewals. 

Taking,  however,  textile  mills  as  they  are  ordinarily  operated,  we 
come  now  to  the  question  as  to  what  we  should  figure  for  replace- 
ment account,  and  on  this  subject  hardly  any  two  people  agree,  and  the 
views  of  most  manufacturers  are  hazy  in  the  extreme. 

The  first  question  that  arises  is  what  it  is  intended  to  do  with 
the  discarded  machinery. 

Some  very  intelligent  managers  make  it  a  point  to  break  up  into 
scrap  everything  that  they  displace,  arguing  that  the  selling  of  such 
machinery  only  puts  it,  at  a  low  figure,  on  the  market,  where  it  will 
sooner  or  later  be  bought  by  some  one  starting  in  business  as  a 
competitor,  and  who,  if  he  could  not  buy  such  low-priced  machinery, 
would  not  have  money  enough  to  start  at  all. 

I  have  heard  of  a  manufacturer  who,  when  replacing  a  section 
of  looms  and  desiring  to  scrap  the  old  ones,  had  them  put  on  the 
elevators  and  run  up  to  the  top  story  of  the  mill,  from  whence  they 


372  DEPRECIATION  OF  PLANT 

were  hurled  to  the  ground  below,  thus  saving  most  of  the  labor  needed 
to  break  them  up.  His  neighbors  thought  he  had  gone  mad,  but  in 
this  madness  there  was  much  method. 

Few  people  think  that  they  can  afford  to  take  this  far-sighted 
view,  and  so  they  sell  their  old  looms  or  frames  for  the  best  price 
they  can  get  for  them,  which,  if  they  have  been  well  kept  up,  may  be 
perhaps  from  25  to  40%  of  their  new  cost.  Let  us,  therefore,  assume 
25%  as  a  safe  figure. 

Methods  of  Figuring  Depreciation. 

Here  are  some  different  methods  of  figuring  depreciation  that  have 
come  to  the  writer's  notice:  A.  Nothing  at  all.  B.  5,  7^,  or  10% 
of  the  original  amount  per  year  till  all  is  written  off.  C.  10%  a  year 
on  the  diminishing  amount.  By  this  method  about  75%  is  marked  off 
in  thirteen  years.  D.  10  to  15%  on  first  cost  till  one-third  is  written 
off,  and  5%  thereafter.  E.  5,  7^,  or  10%  till  reduced  to  25%,  and 
then  kept  at  that  figure.  F.  The  same  as  "E,"  but  brought  to  a 
stationary  level  at  only  40%.  In  this  case  the  assumption  was  that 
40%  could  be  realized  from  the  sale  of  the  old  machinery.  G.  Mark- 
ing off  50%  of  the  value  of  the  machinery  on  installation,  and  5% 
per  annum  thereafter.  H.  Marking  off  25%  on  installation  and  10% 
per  annum  thereafter.  I.  Writing  off  varying  percentages,  from  5 
to  15%  per  annum,  on  the  different  classes  of  machinery  according 
to  their  estimated  wear  and  tear.  J.  Writing  off  from  nothing  to 
20%  a  year,  on  the  original  cost,  according  to  whether  the  earnings 
of  the  year  had  been  large  or  small.  This  method  is  pursued  in  order 
that  dividends  may  be  paid  with  regularity,  which  the  writing  off  of 
depreciation  in  lean  years  might  otherwise  interfere  with. 

No  doubt  there  are  many  other  methods  in  use,  but  the  foregoing 
list  well  illustrates  how  widely  divergent  is  the  practice  in  this  im- 
portant matter. 

Let  us  now  see  which  would  appear  to  be  the  fairest  way. 

Difference  in  Wear-and-tear  of  Machines. 

It  is  evident  that  the  wear  and  tear  of  all  machinery  is  not  the 
same,  but  to  make  nice  distinctions  between  the  various  sorts  would 
lead  to  much  complication  and  invite  many  errors,  so  it  may  be 
best  to  take  a  figure  that  will  represent  the  average.  We  will  omit, 
also,  the  somewhat  remote  chance  of  machinery  being  made  obsolete 
by  the  invention  of  radically  different  types,  or  the  chance  that  the 
renewal  cost  of  it  may  fall,  or  advance,  heavily. 

Life  of  Machinery. 

As  the  machines  will  be  constantly  kept  in  first-class  effective 
shape,  undergoing  as  it  were  a  continuous  process  of  rebuilding  (the 
repairs  of  course  being  charged  to  expenses),  it  is  evident  that  they 
might  last  interminably. 


DEPRECIATION  OF  PLANT  373 

In  twenty  years'  time  they  would  still  be  running  as  well  as  ever, 
but  they  would  then  probably  be  considerably  outclassed  by  the  latest 
types.  When  but  fifteen  years  old  they  might  still  be  able  to  compete 
effectively  or  they  might  even  then  be  out  of  date.  They  should 
certainly,  however,  be  able  to  produce  on  an  economical  basis  for  at 
least  ten  years,  and  we  will  therefore  assume  that  provision  should 
be  made  for  replacement  within  that  period,  and,  if  they  are  good 
for  a  longer  period,  so  much  the  better. 

What  to  Write  Off  on  Machinery. 

Having  regard  to  the  customary  practice  of  selling  the  old  ma- 
chinery, and  estimating  its  value  as  25%,  we  have  remaining  75% 
to  be  written  off  in  ten  years,  or  7J^%  annually  on  the  new  cost. 
This  will  be  a  safe  and  conservative  method  for  use  in  most  cases. 

If  the  old  machinery  is  to  be  broken  up  instead  of  sold,  then,  of 
course,  the  whole  of  the  value  has  to  be  provided  for  in  ten  years 
and  10%  per  annum  of  the  original  cost  will  be  the  figure. 

The  annual  additions  to,  and  extensions  of,  the  plant  must  have 
their  own  depreciations  figured  out  and  included  in  the  general  total. 

The  shafting,  pulleys,  and  other  power  transmission  appliances, 
if  properly  installed,  should  depreciate  very  little,  and  on  this  part 
of  the  plant  5%  annual  allowance  should  be  enough. 

Power-plant  Depreciation. 

The  power  plant  presents  somewhat  different  features  from  ordi- 
nary machinery.  Engines,  kept  in  good  repair,  are  hardly  ever  worn 
out  in  service,  and  they  do  not  usually  become  obsolete  as  soon  as 
producing  machinery.  Boilers  wear  out  in  time,  but,  with  re-tubing 
a  couple  of  times,  a  boiler  should  be  good  for  twenty  years  or  more. 
The  setting  of  the  boiler  should  also  be  figured  on,  as  well  as  the 
boiler  itself,  as  a  new  boiler  requires  a  new  setting. 

Mills,  however,  seldom  remain  stationary  as  to  their  manufacturing 
equipment.  If  they  are  unsuccessful  and  fail,  it  matters  little  what 
depreciation  may  have  been  figured  on.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  do 
well,  their  plant  is  generally  increased  as  the  demand  for  their  goods 
increases,  and  this  means  more  motive  power.  An  increase  in  this 
direction  often  takes  the  form  of  the  entire  discarding  of  the  older 
and  smaller  units  and  their  replacement  by  larger  ones. 

It  would  be  only  fair  to  assume  that  such  periodic  enlargements  in 
a  flourishing  mill  might  have  to  be  made  at  intervals  of  about  ten 
years  and,  as  very  little  is  realized  from  the  sale  of  old  engines  and 
boilers,  it  will  be  proper  to  figure  an  annual  charge  of  a  full  10% 
of  the  entire  new  installation  cost  of  the  power  outfit,  exclusive  of 
the  building  and  stack. 


374  DEPRECIATION  OF  PLANT 

Depreciation  on  Buildings. 

The  depreciation  on  buildings  is  a  thing  seldom  allowed  for,  but  it 
goes  on  just  the  same.  Good  brick  buildings,  kept  in  proper  repair, 
will  endure  for  a  great  period.  In  time,  however,  buildings  have  to  be 
demolished,  as,  owing  to  the  changing  needs  of  business,  and  increas- 
ing size  of  machines,  they  become  inconvenient  and  uncommercial. 
A  fair  allowance  for  the  useful  life  of  such  a  building  might  be  forty 
years,  so  an  annual  depreciation  of  2.y2%  on  the  cost  of  replacement 
should  be  provided  for. 

Increasing  Land  Values. 

Some  people  argue  that  the  land  on  which  the  buildings  stand 
increases  in  value  faster  than  the  buildings  depreciate,  and  therefore 
that  nothing  should  be  written  off  on  this  account.  Such  is  by  no 
means  always  the  case,  but,  even  were  it  so,  it  does  not  alter  the 
situation.  The  mill  buildings  must,  in  time,  be  replaced,  but  the  land 
cannot  be  sold  unless  the  whole  business  be  moved,  a  thing  that  is 
rarely  done  save  under  very  exceptional  circumstances. 

Increased  price  for  the  land  may  look  well  on  the  financial  state- 
ment, but  instead  of  its  being  a  help  in  manufacturing,  it  is  the 
reverse,  and  makes  the  goods  cost  more,  as  the  increased  valuation 
means  heavier  taxes. 

Diminished  Value  of  Special  Equipment. 

There  is  a  class  of  equipment,  such  as  Jacquard  machines,  dobbies, 
battons  for  swivel  looms,  battons  for  ribbon  looms,  etc.,  of  which  a 
mill  may  have  a  great  amount  on  hand,  in  reserve,  in  addition  to 
what  is  actually  in  use  on  the  looms  and  other  machines. 

It  does  not  take  many  years  to  accumulate  a  good  deal  of  such 
stuff;  much  of  it  is  seldom  used;  much  of  it,  too,  gets  obsolete  very 
fast  owing  to  its  being  provided  for  special  work,  which,  with  the 
change  of  fashion,  may  no  longer  be  required. 

Each  manufacturer  will  be  best  able  to  judge  for  himself  how 
likely  to  be  useful  such  parts  of  his  equipment  are,  and  large  sums 
of  money  are  often  locked  up  in  it.  Considering  its  nature,  it  would 
not  seem  unreasonable  to  write  off  20%  of  the  cost  of  such  apparatus 
annually. 

Such  items  in  the  outfit  as  clocks,  scales,  furniture,  shelving,  etc., 
are  so  moderate  in  total  value  and  so  enduring  in  character  that  their 
depreciation  need  hardly  be  considered,  though,  if  desired  to  do  so, 
an  annual  allowance  of  5%  should  suffice. 

The  annual  loss  in  the  small  equipment,  bobbins,  shuttles,  swifts, 
quills  and  what  not  is  made  good  by  the  annual  purchases,  which  are 
charged  to  the  expense  account. 


DEPRECIATION  OF  PLANT  375 

Effect  Entailed  by  Changing  Fashions. 

One  thing  that  may  greatly  affect  the  value  of  machinery  in  a  plant 
is  such  a  change  in  fashion  as  will  compel  a  mill  that  has  been  equipped 
to  make  one  class  of  goods  to  turn  onto  some  other  class,  for  which 
its  looms  may  be  quite  unsuitable,  and  thus  entail  heavy  expenses 
for  new  looms  long  before  the  old  ones  would  ordinarily  have  out- 
lived their  usefulness. 

Such  an  event  is  somewhat  unusual,  and  is  one  of  those  things  that 
need  hardly  be  allowed  for  when  estimating  the  amount  of  annual 
depreciation. 

When  Machinery  Should  be  Discarded. 

When  the  cost  of,  say,  a  loom  has  been  written  off  until  it  stands 
at  25%  of  its  replacement  value,  the  question  arises  as  to  when  it 
should  be  discarded  in  favor  of  a  new  loom. 

This  can  be  answered  by  figuring  out  whether  the  increased  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  new  loom  would  pay  for  the  expense  of  the 
change. 

Thus,  if  the  replacement  cost  was  $160,  and  if  the  old  loom  would 
sell  for  $40,  there  would  be  a  net  expense  of  $120,  chargeable  with 
6%  interest  and  ?%%  depreciation  annually,  or  $16.20  a  year. 

If,  now,  on  the  goods  being  produced,  the  charge  for  general  ex- 
pense was  7  cents  a  yard,  and  if  a  profit  of  3  cents  a  yard  was 
obtainable,  a  total  of  10  cents  a  yard,  an  increased  production  on  the 
part  of  the  new  loom  of  162  yards  a  year,  or  about  3  yards  a  week, 
would  even  this  up. 

There  would  be  no  use  in  making  the  change,  and  locking  up 
more  capital  in  looms,  unless  some  substantial  amount  in  excess  of  this 
should  be  obtainable.  With  an  increase  of  4  yards  a  week,  it  should 
be  worth  while. 

If,  with  the  increased  output,  the  weaving  rate  could  be  lowered 
to  correspond — not  by  any  means  such  an  easy  matter — then  a  smaller 
increase  in  production  would  warrant  the  substitution. 

The  same  reasoning  can  be  applied  to  other  kinds  of  machinery. 

Standard  Percentages  of  Depreciation. 

Reviewing  what  has  already  been  stated,  it  would  appear  that, 
in  American  silk  mills,  it  would  not  be  far  from  the  truth  to  allow 
for  annual  depreciation  such  sums  as  follows :  on  the  regular  machin- 
ery plant,  7^2%  of  the  new  cost  till  it  stands  at  25%,  and  none 
thereafter;  on  the  transmission  machinery,  5%  of  the  new  cost  of 
installation;  on  the  power  plant,  10%,  and  on  Jacquards  and  other 
special  equipment  held  in  reserve,  20%  till  the  whole  amounts  are 
written  off;  then,  on  the  buildings,  2l/2%  of  the  cost  of  the  replace- 
ment of  an  equal  area  of  floor  space. 


376  DEPRECIATION  OF  PLANT 

How  the  Books  Should  be  Kept. 

Having  now  considered  what  amount  it  is  proper  to  set  aside, 
the  next  thing  is  how  it  should  be  expressed  on  the  books  of  account. 

Some  owners,  in  taking  their  inventory,  mark  the  individual  ma- 
chines at  a  less  and  less  cost  each  year.  Others  deduct  from  the  total 
of  the  inventory  the  total  amount  to  •  be  taken  off.  Others  again 
simply  enter  the  amount  on  the  debit  side  of  their  machinery,  and 
other  accounts,  in  the  ledger. 

A  proper  plan  is  to  have  a  special  "renewal  account"  in  the  ledger, 
to  which  is  annually  added  the  amounts  written  off,  thus  leaving  the 
machinery  and  other  accounts,  and  the  inventory  value,  undisturbed. 

Apart  from  its  showing  clearly  just  what  has  been  set  aside,  this 
method  has  certain  advantages.  Thus,  if  the  other  policy  of  deducting 
these  sums  from  the  machinery  account  has  been  followed,  and  if  the 
value  of  the  plant  had  been  written  down  till  it  stood  at  only  25% 
of  replacement  cost,  then,  in  case  the  mill  were  destroyed  by  fire, 
the  owner  would  have  the  time  of  his  life  convincing  the  insurance 
companies  that  they  should  pay  him  for  his  machinery  four  times 
the  value  at  which  he  carried  it  on  his  books. 

Again,  should  he  be  applying  for  bank  accommodation,  and  be 
called  on  to  make  a  statement  of  his  condition,  if  he  had  written  off 
75%  of  the  value  of  his  plant  and  stated  its  then  book  value  to  be 
$50,000,  a  bank  official  would  estimate  that  item  as  worth  about 
$17,000 — or  a  third  of  the  book  value.  If  he  used  a  separate  ac- 
count in  which  to  enter  the  writings-off  for  renewals,  he  would  then 
be  able  to  give  the  book  value  of  his  machinery  as  the  full  $200,000, 
and  this  the  bank  official  would  consider  as  worth  $67,000. 

What  the  Inventory  Should  Include. 

The  inventory  value  of  machinery  should  include  the  entire  cost  of 
setting  up  the  plant  in  running  order.  In  addition  to  what  was  paid 
for  the  machines  themselves,  it  should  cover  the  freight,  cartage, 
handling,  setting  up,  and  tuning  up,  all  of  which  expenses  would 
have  to  be  incurred  in  the  replacing  of  the  plant.  When  a  fire  loss 
occurs  you  are  not  then  put  at  a  disadvantage,  and  your  inventory 
figures  display  then  the  proper  and  real  replacement  cost. 

Whichever  method  is  adopted,  it  should  be  consistently  followed 
on  the  same  lines,  from  year  to  year,  so  that  the  results  of  the 
business,  as  shown  by  the  books,  will  not  be  affected  by  arbitrary 
changes  in  the  handling  of  this  account. 

Jacquard  Cards  and  Fire  Insurance. 

In  connection  with  depreciation,  attention  should  be  called  to  the 
Jacquard  cards,  of  which  most  fancy  goods  mills  have  a  great  accu- 
mulation. Some  of  these  sets  of  cards  are  of  patterns  so  old  that 
they  are  unlikely  to  be  wanted  again;  others  are  used  but  infre- 


DEPRECIATION  OF  PLANT  377 

quently;  others  again  are  in  more  or  less  constant  use;  and  the  stock 
also  is  being  continually  added  to. 

When  putting  a  value  on  them,  no  one  ever  thinks  of  inventorying 
them  at  what  it  cost  to  provide  them,  any  more  than  they  would  be 
likely  to  put  a  value,  in  the  same  manner,  on  the  designs  from  which 
they  had  been  cut. 

A  somewhat  customary  way  is  to  put  down  a  lump  sum,  generally 
a  small  one,  such  as  $1,000,  to  cover  the  stock  of  cards,  the  designs,  etc. 

Now,  when  a  fire  loss  occurs,  the  insurance  companies  are  quite 
within  their  technical  rights  in  claiming  that,  in  the  total  insurable 
value,  the  replacement  cost  of  such  cards  and  designs  is  properly  to 
be  included.  If  a  mill  has  on  hand  a  good  stock  of  such  cards,  etc., 
this  addition  may  reduce  the  insurance  that  has  been  carried  below 
the  80%  limit,  and  the  mill  may  be  held  as  a  co-insurer,  and  so 
receive  from  the  companies  a  much  less  sum  than  the  loss  incurred. 

I  knew  of  an  instance  where  a  metal  working  concern  had  a  lot 
of  old  dies  that  were  treated  in  this  fashion,  and  when  the  factory 
was  burned  the  owners  were  held  to  be  co-insurers,  and  only  received 
$60,000  against  an  $80,000  loss. 

Mills  carrying  stock  of  this  character,  and  all  sorts  of  dead  and 
semi-dead  stock — old  bobbins,  rollers,  castings,  etc.,  etc. — which  are 
considered  as  having  little  value,  (though  their  new  cost  might  have 
been  heavy),  should  consult  their  fire  insurance  brokers  and  see  that 
such  things  are  specifically  excluded  from  the  stock  covered  by  their 
regular  policies.  If  it  is  desired  to  insure  them  for  something,  they 
can  be  covered  by  separate  policies. 

Withdraw  Renewal  Money  from  the  Business. 

When  depreciation  has  been  earned  and  written  off,  it  is  a  very 
useful  plan  to  have  the  amount  withdrawn  in  cash  from  the  active 
uses  of  the  business,  and  invested  in  some  interest-bearing  security 
of  a  safe  and  easily  convertible  character.  By  so  doing,  when  re- 
newals should  be  made  the  funds  are  on  hand  for  the  purpose  and 
are  not  melted  in,  in  the  form  of  goods  and  materials,  with  the  general 
assets  of  the  mill,  as  is  usually  the  case  where  the  amounts  set  aside 
simply  appear  as  entries  in  the  books. 

As  the  managers  are-  then  aware  that  a  certain  sum  of  cash  must 
be  provided  for  depreciation  by  a  certain  date,  just  as  provision  has 
to  be  made  for  dividend  payments  or  interest  charges,  they  will  start 
in  time  to  run  down  their  stock  of  materials,  so  as  to  get  the  assets 
in  a  sufficiently  liquid  shape  to  enable  them  to  squeeze  out  the 
amounts  required. 

Some  English  Experience. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  the  general  practice  and  expe- 
rience of  a  large  number  of  textile  manufacturers  in  England  and 


DEPRECIATION  OF  PLANT 


Scotland,  and  which  was  prepared  by  Mr.  G.  P.  Norton,  of  Hudders- 
field,  England,  may  be  of  interest  here: 

"Rates  of  Depreciation  on  Diminishing  Values. 
Warehouses,  Offices  and  Cottages  .....................  2^  to    4% 

Mills,  including  both  Buildings  and  Motive  Power  ......  3j/£  to    6% 

Mill  buildings,  exclusive  of  motive  power  ..............  2^2  to     5% 

Motive  plant,  i.e.,  Engines,  Boilers,  Gearing,  etc  ........  5     to  7^2% 

Plant  and  machinery,  viz.  : 

Carding,  scribbling  and  condensing  ....................  About     5% 

Combing  and  spinning  ...............................  About  7^/2  % 

Weaving  ...........................................  About  10% 

Dyeing  and  finishing  ................................  About     5% 

Miscellaneous   ......................................  5      to  10% 

Furniture  and  fixtures  ..............................  7J/2  to  10% 

These  figures  are  based  upon  the  probable  working  life  and  the 
residual  value,  if  any,  when  worn  out." 

Mill  policies  and  methods  in  America  are  so  different  from  those 
that  are  pursued  in  Europe  that  probably  the  above  figures  would  not 
properly  represent  the  depreciation  to  be  figured  on  here. 

A  point  that  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  is  that  the  sums  set  aside 
for  depreciation,  whether  used  in  the  business  or  invested  in  outside 
securities,  should  be  credited  with  interest.  Such  funds  should  earn 
at  least  4%,  and,  as  this  interest  will  be  compounding  as  the  years  go 
by,  it  will  add  very  substantially  to  the  amount  available  for  re- 
placements. 


XXXVI 

CAPITAL  REQUIRED  IN  SILK  MANUFACTURING 


The  question  of  capital  requirements  for  a  mill  is  of  the  greatest 
importance,  and  one  which  should  receive  the  most  careful  considera- 
tion before  a  new. concern  is  started,  or  before  an  increase  of  pro- 
ducing machinery  is  determined  upon  by  an  old  one. 

Unfortunately,  new  concerns  do  not  realize  how  much  money  is 
actually  required  to  finance  a  business,  and  so  they  get  started  with 
hopelessly  inadequate  funds,  and,  once  started,  they  have  to  sink 
or  swim. 

Precarious  Condition  of  Undercapitalised  Firms. 

A  firm  with  insufficient  funds  to  enable  it  to  pursue  a  safe  and  sane 
policy,  may  at  any  moment  find  itself  in  a  most  precarious  condition. 
If  a  slump  in  business  occurs,  so  that  goods  made  or  making  cannot  be 
delivered,  such  a  mill  cannot  stop  its  looms  as  its  capital  is  all  tied  up 
in  equities  in  the  goods  on  hand,  and  it  must  be  run  in  order  to  get  ad- 
vances on  new  goods  coming  forward,  so  that  its  bills  can  be  met. 
Stoppage  means  liquidation,  and  liquidation  would  be  financial  death. 
It  must  run  or  perish;  and  so,  just  when  every  dictate  of  prudence 
and  experience  would  point  to  a  sharp  reduction  in  product,  this  finan- 
cial necessity  may  compel  it  to  run  full,  to  the  serious  damage  of  its 
own  interests  and  of  those  of  the  whole  market. 

These  conditions  are  ever  present  and  have  much  to  do  with  the 
unsatisfactory  position  of  the  industry. 

Money  Requirements  of  Manufacturers. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  money  requirements  of  a  mill  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  broad-silks. 

At  the  top  of  the  scale  we  may  find  a  concern  with  most  ample 
funds,  which  owns  a  fine  plant,  unmortgaged,  and  which  may  also 


380         CAPITAL  REQUIRED  IN  MANUFACTURING 

possess  the  auxiliary  facilities  for  throwing,  dyeing,  printing  and  fin- 
ishing. It  may  pay  cash  for  all  its  raw-silk,  yarns  and  supplies,  and 
may  keep  an  ample  stock  of  them.  A  considerable  stock  of  finished 
merchandise  may  also  be  carried,  and  no  money  be  borrowed  from 
banks  or  other  sources;  no  advances  on  merchandise  be  taken,  and  it 
may  carry  all  its  own  credits  and  not  have  any  one  cash  its  sales. 

The  Employment  of  Surplus  Money. 

It  is  very  easy  for  a  concern,  placed  in  such  an  enviable  situation, 
to  have  far  too  much  capital  locked  up  in  its  business  for  its  own  good. 
In  the  operations  cited  above  much  of  its  capital  is  being  employed  in 
earning  a  simple  6%  per  annum. 

Money  invested  in  manufacturing  should  bring  in  more  return  than 
that ;  and  it  is  frequently  better  to  borrow  for  a  respectable  part  of  one's 
requirements  (if  the  proportion  be  not  unduly  large),  and  so  leave 
more  of  the  funds  free  for  the  active  prosecution  of  the  manufacturing 
side  of  the  business. 

Of  course,  when  any  concern  finds  itself  with  an  undue  amount  of 
cash  on  hand,  which  may  not  be  needed  for  a  while,  it  can  employ  this 
surplus  at  a  return  of  perhaps  5  per  cent,  in  the  purchase  of  high-class 
short-time  commercial  paper. 

Too  ample  a  supply  of  funds  is  apt  to  lead  to  carelessness  in  their 
use,  and  it  is  wonderful  how  money  will  get  locked  up  in  silk  at  the 
mill  and  in  goods  at  the  store  under  such  conditions,  while,  if  necessity 
had  compelled  a  stricter  policy,  probably  not  more  than  one-half  the 
amount  need  have  been  melted  into  the  stock  in  this  manner. 

Limits  of  Capital  for  Mill  Departments. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  silk  mills  should  take  a  lesson  from  the  de- 
partment stores,  in  which  a  definite  and  limited  amount  of  capital  is 
allowed  for  each  department,  and  the  buyers  are  compelled  to  keep 
within  it.  Now,  if  each  department  of  a  mill  were  so  treated,  with 
proper  allowance  for  the  number  of  looms  that  were  running,  it  would 
compel  the  mill  management  to  exercise  special  care  to  see  that  undue 
amounts  of  money  did  not  get  locked  up  here  and  there  in  the  stock, 
and  which  in  the  aggregate  would  often  amount  to  a  huge  sum. 

It  does  not  do  to  starve  any  department  of  a  mill ;  but,  beyond  the 
absolutely  needed  provision,  there  should  not  be  tied  up  an  unnecessary 
dollar.  The  constant  aim  must  be  to  keep  the  capital  in  the  largest 
degree  liquid. 

Desirability  of  Keeping  Capital  Liquid. 

For  this  reason  many  prudent  manufacturers,  when  building  their 
mills,  will  procure  the  largest  possible  mortgages  upon  the  realty,  or 
will  arrange  to  have  buildings  suitable  for  their  requirements  erected 
on  the  basis  of  an  annual  rental  charge.  When  favorable  terms  can 
be  had,  mills,  not  under  commission-house  roofs,  may  also  arrange  to 


CAPITAL  REQUIRED  IN  MANUFACTURING         381 

have  their  sales  cashed  by  one  or  other  of  the  banking  concerns  un- 
dertaking such  work,  and  so  release  substantial  sums,  and  some  rea- 
sonable period  of  credit  will  also  be  taken  on  bills  for  raw  materials. 

Working  With  Insufficient  Funds. 

Considering  next  those  mills  at  the  bottom  of  the  scale,  we  may 
find  them  with  mortgaged  plants,  or  located  in  rented  premises,  and 
sometimes  with  chattel  mortgages  on  their  machinery,  or  with  looms 
bought  on  credit  and  only  partially  paid  for.  They  buy  their  raw 
materials  on  the  longest  possible  time ;  let  their  other  bills  drag  as  long 
as  they  prudently  can;  get  such  bank  or  other  loans  as  they  can  pro- 
cure; take  full  advances  on  their  goods,  and  have  their  sales  cashed. 
These  are  the  mills  that  cannot  stop. 

Such  conditions  do  not  make  a  very  sound  basis  for  raw-silk  credits, 
but  by  a  judicious  arrangement  and  padding  of  their  statements,  credit 
is  often  obtained  that  otherwise  would  be  withheld. 

Figuring  the  Annual  Mill  Production. 

Let  us  now  get  down  to  figures  and  consider  a  broad  silk  mill  with 
200  looms,  running  full  and  steadily  on  36-inch  goods  at  72^  cents  a 
yard.  Let  the  weekly  run  be  55  hours,  and  the  looms  be  speeded  to 
134  picks  a  minute,  with  90  picks  per  inch  in  the  cloth.  A  production 
of  70%  of  the  theoretical  would  yield  us  95 H  yards  a  week,  which, 
at  the  price  above  stated,  would  give  a  gross  output  of  $69.25  per  week 
per  loom.  Deducting  15  per  cent,  from  this  for  the  selling  expense, 
leaves  $58.86,  and,  if  we  allow  the  profit  in  it  to  be  about  5  per  cent, 
we  get  a  figure  of  $56.00  as  the  net  mill  cost  of  the  cloth  produced 
weekly  on  each  loom. 

Multiplying  this  figure  by  51,  for  the  number  of  working  weeks 
in  the  year,  and  by  200  for  the  number  of  looms,  we  get  an  annual 
output,  on  a  cost  basis,  of  $571,200.  or  $47,600.  per  month. 

Details  of  the  Monthly  Expenditure. 

Now,  let  us  assume  that,  in  the  cost  of  the  fabric  produced,  50% 
is  represented  by  raw-silk,  costing  $23,800.  a  month;  25%  is  wages, 
amounting  to  $11,900.  a  month;  15%  goes  outside  for  throwing,dyeing 
and  finishing,  and  totals  up  $7,140.  a  month;  6%  is  applied  to  general 
expenses  and  salaries,  with  a  figure  of  $2,856.  a  month;  while  the  re- 
maining 4%  covers  interest  and  depreciation,  amounting  to  $1,904.  a 
month. 

Investment  in  Plant. 

We  will  suppose  that  $200.  a  loom  is  invested  in  land  and  buildings, 
and  $300.  a  loom  in  machinery  and  equipment,  so  we  must  figure 
$40,000.  for  the  one  and  $60,000.  for  the  other,  a  total  investment  in 
the  plant  of  $100,000.  or  $500.  a  loom. 


382         CAPITAL  REQUIRED  IN  MANUFACTURING 

Amount  and  Value  of  Materials  in  Process. 

Taking  the  minimum  amount  of  materials  on  which  a  going  con- 
cern could  economically  conduct  its  work,  we  may  presume  that  there 
should  be  at  the  throwster's,  under  throwing  order,  a  supply  of  raw- 
silk  sufficient  for  three  weeks.  This  would  have  a  value  of  $18,000. 

Then,  at  the  dyer's,  there  should  be  another  three  weeks'  supply 
of  thrown  silk,  raised  in  value  by  the  throwing  to  a  total  of  $21,000.; 
and,  in  various  processes  at  the  mill,  a  stock  of  silk  equivalent  to  a 
four  weeks'  supply,  which  with  the  throwing  and  dyeing  costs,  and 
with  the  labor  and  other  charges  expended  on  it,  would  have  a  value 
of,  say,  $38,000.,  making  a  total  mill  stock  of  $77,000. 

It  nearly  always  happens  that  odd  lots  of  materials  accumulate 
at  a  mill  to  a  serious  extent,  and  in  practice  much  money  is  generally 
locked  up  in  such  forms,  and  should  be  figured  on;  but  to  make  our 
figures  clear  we  will  take  no  account  of  this  here. 

Merchandise  Stock  and  Open  Accounts. 

At  the  salesrooms,  it  will  usually  be  considered  necessary  to  have 
a  reasonable  amount  of  manufactured  goods  on  hand  as  a  basis  on 
which  to  transact  business,  and  this  underlying  stock  may  be  esti- 
mated at  one  month's  output,  having  a  net  mill  cost  of  $47,600. 

In  addition  to  this  there  may  be,  on  the  average,  a  quantity  of  goods 
in  stock,  sold,  but  which  are  being  held  for  the  time  of  delivery  to 
arrive;  and  this  may  be  put  at  two  months'  output,  amounting  to 
$95,200.,  making  a  total  manufactured  stock  on  hand  at  the  salesrooms 
of  $142,800.  net  mill  cost. 

If  the  terms  of  sale  to  the  trade  are  on  the  usual  basis  of  6%  off 
for  payment  in  10  days,  and  with  60  days'  dating,  then  it  would  follow 
that  there  might  usually  be  on  the  books  open  accounts  to  the  extent 
of  two  months'  output,  or  $95,200.  net  mill  cost. 

Capital  Actually  Employed. 

Recapitulating  these  figures,  we  have  in  the  plant  $100,000. ;  in  mill 
stock,  $77,000. ;  in  merchandise  stock,  $142,800.  and  in  accounts  on  the 
books,  $95,200. — a  total  of  $415,000.  or  $2,075.  Per  l°om  °*  capital 
actually  employed,  and  that,  too,  on  a  most  conservative  lay  out. 

For  a  concern  that  pays  cash  for  everything,  never  borrows,  and 
which  carries  its  own  credits,  it  is  evident  that  a  capital  of  $2,000.  a 
loom  is  none  too  much.;  and,  if  it  has  its  own  facilities  for  throwing, 
dyeing,  printing  and  finishing,  it  would  probably  need  to  employ 
$500.  a  loom  additional. 

Overtrading \  Carried  to  Absurd  Lengths. 

Next,  let  us  see  with  how  little  capital  the  same  business  might  be 
conducted. 

We  will  figure  that  a  mortgage  for  $50,000.  has  been  effected  on 


CAPITAL  REQUIRED  IN  MANUFACTURING         383 

the  mill  realty  and  machinery,  and  that  the  net  investment  there  is 
brought  down  to  $50,000.,  so  the  sum  needed  will  now  stand  at 
$365,000. 

The  liabilities  might  be  as  follows :  For  6  months'  supply  of  raw- 
silk,  bought  on  notes  of  6  months',  an  amount  equal  to  $142,500.  It 
would  doubtless  be  difficult  to  secure  such  a  large  supply  of  silk  on 
credit,  on  such  a  limited  amount  of  net  capital,  but  excessive  credit 
is  by  no  means  unknown  in  the  trade. 

Then,  there  would  be  an  average  of  one  week's  wages  due  at  the 
mills,  $3,000.;  one  month's  expenses  due  for  supplies,  salaries,  etc., 
$3,000.,  and  one  month's  bills  for  throwing,  dyeing  and  finishing,  ag- 
gregating $7,000.,  making  a  total  floating  debt  at  the  mills  of  $155.500. 

In  addition,  there  would  be  commission  house  advances  on  the 
unsold  three  months'  stock  of  goods,  amounting  to  $176,600.  gross 
selling  value,  and  advances  of  60  per  cent,  on  this  would  be  $106,000. 

The  two  months'  sales  of  goods,  sold  on  60  days'  credit,  and 
amounting  to  $117,700.  gross,  could  also  be  cashed,  yielding  about 
$99,500.;  but  advances  of  60%  on  the  gross  amount  would  have  been 
taken,  amounting  to  $70,600.,  so  that  there  would  only  be  $28,900.  of 
equity  remaining  if  everything  brought  full  price. 

The  total  floating  liabilities  then  will  be:  $155,500.  of  mill  accounts, 
$106,000.  advances  on  unsold  goods,  and  $70,600.  advances  on  sold 
goods,  making  a  sum  of  $332,100. 

Subtracting  from  our  figure  of  $365,000.  this  $332,100.,  and  adding 
in  $5,000.  profit  on  the  goods  sold,  we  have  remaining  only  $37,900 
as  the  entire  capital  of  this  200  loom  mill,  or  but  $190.  a  loom;  so  that 
instead  of  having  some  reasonable  amount  of  cash  working  capital,  in 
addition  to  the  investment  in  the  mill  properties,  it  has  no  working 
capital  at  all,  and  in  addition  there  are  debts  amounting  to  about  three- 
fifths  of  the  value  of  the  plant — a  pitiable  exhibition. 

When  it  is  considered  that  the  three  months'  output  of  goods,  on 
hand  at  the  salesrooms,  represents  a  net  mill  cost  of  $47,600.  X  3  = 
$142,800.,  on  which  commission  house  advances  of  $106,000.  have  been 
taken,  leaving  an  equity  in  the  stock  of  $36,800.,  it  will  be  seen  that 
practically  the  entire  mill  capital  is  tied  up  in  this  form ;  and,  if  there 
should  be  a  falling  goods  market,  all  of  this  equity  might  be  easily 
wiped  out,  and  the  concern  left  without  a  dollar  of  its  own. 

On  the  $2,000.  a  loom  basis,  this  $37,900.  capital  would  properly 
operate  about  19  looms,  instead  of  200,  and  this  deplorable  state  of 
affairs  would  only  be  possible  by  the  unduly  long  terms  on  which  raw- 
silk  is  sold,  and  the  too  great  freedom  with  which  credit  is  granted, 
together  with  the  pawn  broking  facilities,  in  the  shape  of  advances  on 
goods,  incident  to  the  commission  house  system. 

Mills  Should  be  Able  to  Shut  Down. 
The  most  important  fact  to  bear  in  mind  in  considering  the  capital 


384         CAPITAL  REQUIRED  IN  MANUFACTURING 

question  is  that  the  business  should  always  be  kept  in  such  a  shape  that, 
if  the  exigencies  of  the  times  demanded  the  shutting  down  of  20  looms, 
or  of  200,  the  maturing  obligations  could  be  taken  care  of  without  de- 
pending upon  a  fresh  output  of  the  looms  for  that  purpose. 

When  one  is  tempted  to  increase  his  plant,  he  should  do  some  sober 
figuring  along  these  lines,  and,  if  he  finds  any  kind  of  doubt  existing 
as  to  how  he  would  be  fixed  in  this  respect,  he  should  defer  his  expan- 
sion until  he  has  accumulated  a  proper  sum  of  money  for  financing 
it. 

Requirements  of  Mills  Differ. 

The  above  figures  are  only  based  upon  the  operations  of  a  small  mill 
running  on  plain  goods;  and,  of  course,  every  mill,  large  or  small, 
plain  or  fancy,  will  have  its  own  special  conditions  to  meet,  and  in 
which  the  capital  required  may  differ  widely  from  the  foregoing, 
Fancy  goods  mills,  in  particular,  will  lock  up  much  more  money  in  ma- 
chinery and  materials  at  the  mills,  and  much  more  money  in  stock  at 
the  salesrooms. 

The  underlying  principles,  however,  are  just  the  same,  and  they  de- 
serve the  closest  scrutiny  and  the  most  careful  study  and  consideration. 

Weak  Concerns  Are  the  Bane  of  the  Industry. 

Under  capitalized  concerns  are  the  bane  of  the  industry,  and  their 
weakness  is  the  cause  of  serious  hardships  not  only  to  themselves,  but 
to  the  entire  trade.  New  concerns  starting  are  very  rarely  anything 
like  so  well  supplied  with  money  as  they  should  be,  to  have  a  proper 
chance  of  success;  but,  unfortunately,  they  only  become  aware  of  this 
after  they  are  started,  and  the  mischief  is  then  done. 

It  is  a  pity  that  none  of  our  silk  organizations  is  in  a  position  to 
furnish  free  expert  advice,  along  these  and  other  lines,  to  all  persons 
who  might  contemplate  embarking  in  the  manufacture  of  silk.  It 
might  help  to  keep  many  of  them  out  of  the  trade. 


XXXVII 

THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS 


NOTE. — This  paper  was  originally  published  in  October,  1911,  dur- 
ing a  period  of  severe  depression  in  the  silk  industry. 

In  rewriting  the  article,  the  outline  of  the  conditions  then  prevailing 
has  been  allowed  to  stand,  for  the  causes  of  the  trade  evils  here  set 
forth  are  always  with  us,  be  the  local  circumstances  what  they  may. 

J.  C. 

In  times  of  severe  trade  depression  there  is  always  much  talk  in 
a  general  way  of  how  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing  should  be  done  to 
improve  conditions  in  the  industry,  and  to  correct  admitted  evils. 

I  think  it  was  Artemus  Ward,  who,  in  speaking  upon  the  unwilling- 
ness of  the  public  to  make  the  least  personal  effort  looking  toward  the 
reform  of  any  prevailing  evils,  made  a  remark,  in  substance,  as  fol- 
lows :  "Now,  for  instance,  take  the  matter  of  the  weather ;  people  talk, 
and  talk,  and  yet  nothing  is  done." 

In  the  silk  trade,  too,  there  is  talk  and  talk,  and  yet  little  or  nothing 
is  done,  largely  because  very  many  people  believe  that  the  evils  before 
us  can  no  more  be  corrected  than  can  the  weather. 

Where  so  many  potent  outside  causes  are  apparent  as  having  a  dis- 
astrous effect-upon  the  industry,  there  is  doubtless  a  tendency  also  to 
overlook  certain  very  serious  underlying  influences,  influences  that  are 
present  with  us  all  the  time,  helping  to  diminish  the  prosperity  of  good 
times,  and  making  doubly  severe  the  disasters  of  bad  times. 

The  Evil  of  Chronic  Overproduction. 

The  principal  evil  which  is  apparent  is  a  chronic  state  of  overpro- 
duction at  all  times,  with  accentuated  volume  during  periods  of  de- 
pression, periods  when  a  sharply  restricted  output  is  imperatively  de- 
manded. It  is  this  overproduction  that  has  been  going  on  in  the  face 


386  THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS 

of  the  great  under-consumption  of  silk  merchandise,  due  to  the  pre- 
vailing fashions  in  women's  dress,  that  has  largely  assisted  in  creating 
the  present  demoralization  in  the  trade. 

Current  Adverse  Conditions. 

Let  us  admit  all  of  the  many  adverse  conditions  that  prevail;  the 
restricted  yardage  needed  for  costumes;  the  unsettled  conditions  in 
financial  circles,  largely  due  to  the  attitude  of  the  government  toward 
big  corporate  enterprises;  the  proposed  downward  revision  of  the 
tariff;  the  change  of  party  control  in  Congress  and  the  approaching 
Presidential  election;  the  high  cost  of  living;  the  unrest  of  labor  both 
here  and  abroad ;  the  threat  of  war  in  Europe,  due  to  the  dispute  over 
Morocco;  the  rebellion  in  Mexico;  the  disturbed  political  situation  in 
England,  Portugal,  Spain,  Cuba,  and  elsewhere ;  the  uprising  in  China  ; 
the  changed  conditions  in  costume  requirements  brought  about  by  the 
enormous  use  of  automobiles;  the  huge  amount  of  wealth  withdrawn 
from  other  channels  and  sunk  in  the  purchase  and  upkeep  of  motor 
cars;  the  increasing  national,  state,  and  city  expenditures,  including 
the  Panama  Canal,  the  New  York  State  barge  canal,  and  other  extraor- 
dinary expenses;  the  excessive  losses  from  fire  and  the  destructive 
forest  fires ;  the  demolition  of  endless  city  buildings  to  make  room  for 
public  improvements,  railway  stations,  bridges  and  their  approaches, 
hotels,  and  huge  loft  and  office  buildings,  etc.,  in  which  great  sums  of 
money  are  locked  up,  changed  in  this  way  from  liquid  capital  to  fixed 
capital;  the  endless  investigating,  and  consequent  unsettling,  of  all 
sorts  of  business  and  political  affairs,  that  is  being  undertaken  by  state 
and  nation;  the  injurious  domination  of  great  monopolies  in  many 
branches  of  industry ;  the  competition  of  the  cotton  mills ;  the  restric- 
tions put  on  buyers  by  the  "merchandise  men,"  and  the  hand-to-mouth 
policy  of  purchasing  that  seems  now  to  have  become  the  fashion ;  the 
after-effects  of  the  panic  that  are  still  felt;  and  many  other  contribut- 
ing causes  than  can  doubtless  be  marshalled  up,  and  which  fully  ac- 
count for  the  caution  and  conservatism  everywhere  apparent. 

Favorable  Factors  in  the  Situation. 

Admitting,  I  say,  all  these,  yet  considering  as  an  offset  the  large 
totals  of  our  crop  yields,  year  by  year,  and  the  handsome  prices  that 
they  have  commanded,  which  means  that  the  nation,  as  a  whole,  has  a 
real  purchasing  power;  that  silks  are  highly  favored  by  fashion,  and 
that  the  prices  at  which  they  can  be  produced  and  sold,  owing  to  cheap 
raw-silk  and  to  manufacturing  skill  and  specialization,  are  so  low  as  to 
give  them  a  wider  field  than  ever  before;  that  labor  throughout  the 
country  has  been  very  fairly  employed,  and  at  good  wages ;  and  many 
other  favorable  factors,  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  the  trade  to 
have  sunk  into  the  pitiable  condition  that  it  has  were  it  not  for  an 


THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS  387 

unwarranted  and  blind  manufacture  of  goods  in  excess  of  visible  re- 
quirements. 

Overstocked  Market 'Entailing  Heavy  Losses. 

No  more  goods,  if  as  many,  are  taken  than  would  have  been  the 
case  with  a  market  bare  of  stock,  while  with  few  goods  on  the  shelves, 
and  fewer  in  work,  some  profit  could  have  been  exacted  on  sales.  As  it 
is,  we  entered  a  season  certain  to  be  poor  with  a  heavily  overstocked 
market,  and  thus  enabled  the  buyers  to  absolutely  dominate  and  tram- 
ple upon  the  producers. 

The  business  done  could  not  have  been  a  full  one  in  any  event,  but 
some  money  might  have  been  made  on  what  was  done.  Now,  less 
business  than  ever  is  done,  and  the  losses  both  on  stock  and  order  goods 
are  killing. 

Might  we  not,  therefore,  have  been  spared  much  of  this  agony,  if 
some  rational  measures  looking  to  curtailments  had  been  worked  out 
in  the  past,  and  may  not  some  steps  be  now  taken  that  may  prove  of 
service  in  the  future? 

Inability  of  Weak  Concerns  to  Stop. 

One  of  the  most  potent  causes  in  bringing  about  an  overproduction 
during  periods  of  slack  trade,  or  depression,  is  the  inability  of  weak 
concerns  to  stop. 

Firms  which  are  overtrading  usually  have  much  or  all  of  their  quick 
capital  locked  up  in  equities  in  goods,  which  have  been  advanced  on  by 
their  commission  agents.  When  a  stoppage  of  buying  occurs,  there 
is  no  stoppage  of  the  times  at  which  liabilities  must  be  met. 

Money  to  take  care  of  maturing  obligations  must  be  had  at  any 
cost.  It  cannot  be  got  from  the  release  of  the  equities  in  the  stock 
goods,  for,  if  forced  to  a  sale  at  a  time  when  goods  were  not  wanted 
they  would  seldom  bring  more  than  enough  to  cover  the  advances,  if 
as  much.  The  commission  merchants  will  not  and  cannot  go  beyond 
certain  limits  in  their  advances.  Bank  loans  could,  rarely  be  secured 
on  such  statements  as  these  concerns  would  have  to  present.  The  only 
means  remaining  to  stave  off  a  collapse  is  to  make  stock  goods  for  ad- 
vances, and  as  the  advances  on  them,  when  made,  are  less  than  the 
money  put  into  them,  it  follows  that  the  new  obligations  are  of  an  in- 
creasing character,  and  the  further  stock  to  be  made  to  take  care  of 
these  in  turn  must  be  of  an  increased  amount  also.  This  process  con- 
tinues till  the  market  improves  or  the  mill  fails. 

Booking  Order  Business  at  a  Loss. 

Some  manufacturers,  knowing  full  well  the  cruel  losses  that  stock 
goods  entail,  and  possibly  influenced  also  by  the  knowledge  that  their 
factors  would  be  unwilling  to  advance  as  liberally  on  stock  goods  on 
a  weak  market  as  on  order  goods,  take  the  bull  by  the  horns  and 
boldly  bid  for  order  business  at  a  loss,  and  in  so  doing  they  are  adopt- 


388  THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS 

ing  a  far  safer  plan,  though  dreadfully  expensive,  than  those  who  are 
banking  up  merchandise. 

Production  Increases  When  it  Should  Contract. 

To  talk  to  these  gentlemen  about  the  desirability  or  necessity  of 
curtailing  production  at  such  times  is  to  talk  to  the  wind.  They  know 
it  as  well  as  any  one,  and  they  would  be  overjoyed  to  be  in  a  position 
to  do  so,  but  they  cannot.  Plunge  ahead  they  must,  sink  or  swim. 

We  therefore  see  that  at  the  very  time  that  restriction  of  output 
is  needed,  it  is  thus  largely  increased,  and  at  the  same  time  prices  are 
broken  in  every  direction  by  these  weak  interests.  Those  strong  and 
sane  manufacturers  who  keep  their  output  within  proper  bounds,  while 
they  need  not  be  loaded  with  stock,  yet  see  the  prices  broken  on  such 
goods  as  they  have  on  their  shelves,  and  market  figures  established 
that  make  the  getting  of  a  proper  profit  on  order  goods  almost  an  im- 
possibility. In  spite  of  their  own  strength  and  ability  they  suffer  in 
common  with  the  rest. 

Temporary  Depressions  Become  Continuing  Ones. 
In  every  trade  there  are  temporary  or  slight  depressions,  or  ces- 
sation of  active  purchasing,  as  distinguished  from  those  severe  and 
far-reaching  collapses  that  take  place  at  longer  intervals.  These  mod- 
erate reactions  would  have  but  a  very  short  duration  if  the  supply 
of  goods  was  kept  in  reasonable  harmony  with  the  demand.  Owing  to 
the  conditions  that  exist  in  the  silk  trade,  each  of  these  minor  depres- 
sions is  accentuated  into  a  long  continued  period  of  bad  business,  and 
the  control  of  the  market  is  thus  ever  surrendered  to  the  buyers. 

Cycles  of  Good  and  Bad  Years. 

The  writer  has  observed  elsewhere  that  there  seems  to  occur  in 
this  industry  cycles  of  about  five  years,  in  which  one  year  is  good,  one 
indifferent,  two  bad,  and  one  very  bad.  It  certainly  appears  to  be  so. 

Where  the  Blame  Lies. 

The  principal  causes  that  enable  concerns  without  sufficient  funds 
to  start,  and  to  continue  in  business,  appear  to  be  the  long  time  credit 
that  is  often  afforded  by  machinery  builders,  the  extended  terms  given 
on  raw-silk,  and  the  pawn-broking  facilities  afforded  by  the  commis- 
sion houses  in  their  cash  advances  upon  merchandise  sent  them  for 
sale,  together  with  their  discounting  of  all  sales  made. 

Without  this  commission  house  assistance,  these  concerns  could 
never  do  business,  but,  as  the  commission  house  system  seems  to  have 
arisen  from  the  inability  of  the  banking  system  of  the  country  to  sup- 
ply the  textile  producers  with  sufficient  funds  for  their  needs,  we  shall 
doubtless  have  it  with  us  for  a  long  time  to  come.  It  has  notable  con- 
veniences and  advantages  in  certain  ways,  though  the  mills  have  to  pay 
roundly  for  them,  but  unfortunately  it  affords  too  great  facilities,  and 


THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS  389 

thus  keeps  alive  a  lot  of  very  weak  mills  which  make  little  or  no  profit 
for  themselves,  and  it  constantly  assists  in  bringing  into  being  mills 
which  never  should  start  on  the  scale  that  they  do. 

How  a  Mushroom  Concern  Starts. 

A  concern  with  five  or  six  thousand  dollars,  by  taking  rented  prem- 
ises, buying  much  of  its  machinery  on  extended  time,  and  the  rest  from 
second-hand  dealers,  getting  six  months'  credit  for  its  silk,  and  get- 
ting full  advances  on  its  goods,  with  sales  cashed,  will  start  with,  say, 
fifty  looms,  while  that  capital,  even  if  the  mill  had  reasonable  com- 
mission house  assistance,  should  not  properly  be  counted  upon  to 
finance  more  than  about  ten  looms. 

There  should  be  no  criticism  about  the  mere  size  of  any  concern. 
The  man  with  four  looms  is  as  much  entitled  to  proportionate  credit 
for  his  four  as  the  man  with  four  hundred  is  for  his.  The  great  thing 
is  that,  be  the  mill  large  or  be  it  small,  there  should  be  proper  capital 
behind  each  loom  operated. 

Extended  Time  of  Machinery  Sales. 

Taking  the  builders  of  machinery,  we  find  that  it  is  not  unusual 
for  loom  builders  and  others  to  install  plants  on  the  basis,  say,  of  10% 
cash,  and  10%  per  month  thereafter,  the  title  to  the  machinery  not 
to  pass  until  the  payments  are  completed.  The  builder  is  quite  safe 
in  doing  this,  for  it  is  practically  certain  that  at  least  the  first  three 
or  four  payments  will  be  met,  and  if  he  then  has  to  take  back  his 
machinery  he  can  repaint  and  resell  it  as  new,  and  the  money  he  has 
already  received  will  recoup  him  for  his  expenses  and  profit. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  buyer  completes  his  payments,  and  sub- 
sequently requires  more  machinery,  he  will  generally  buy  the  same 
types  for  the  sake  of  uniformity,  and  he  will  have  a  very  friendly  feel- 
ing for  the  seller  on  account  of  the  liberal  terms  originally  accorded 
him. 

This  policy  naturally  locks  up  a  lot  of  the  builder's  capital,  but  he 
finds  it  a  valuable  help  toward  inducing  the  manufacturer  to  start  with 
his  machinery,  and,  once  started,  he  is  pretty  sure  to  continue  using  it. 

Long  Credit  Given  on  Asiatic  Silks. 

In  the  raw-silk  trade,  all  Asiatic  silks  are  sold  on  a  basis  of  6 
months'  terms,  and  Europeans  usually  on  a  credit  of  60  or  90  days. 
Notes  may,  or  may  not,  be  given  in  settlement  of  accounts. 

The  longer  time  accorded  to  buyers  of  Asiatic  silks  gives  these  silks 
a  great  advantage  over  Europeans  in  the  favor  of  those  houses  with 
limited  capital. 

Carrying  of  Silk  and  Forward  Selling. 

In  addition  to  the  terms  of  credit,  the  raw-silk  houses  customarily 
carry  silk  after  the  due  date  of  delivery  until  such  time  as  the  buyer 


390  THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS 

chooses  to  call  it  in,  which  may  not  be  for  several  months.  For  this 
carrying,  a  charge  is  made  on  the  bill  at  the  rate  of  6%  per  annum 
on  the  value  of  the  silk  for  the  time  it  has  been  carried.  One  per 
cent,  of  this  practically  covers  the  storage  and  insurance,  while  5% 
represents  the  real  interest  charge. 

If  a  raw-silk  house  should  sell  silk  for  forward  delivery,  to  be  de- 
livered, say,  in  two,  three,  four,  and  five  months'  time  from  date  of 
contract,  and  if  the  last  delivery  were  carried  for  four  months,  and  the 
terms  were  six  months  from  that  date,  it  would  then  be  fifteen  months, 
on  the  last  delivery,  from  the  time  that  the  raw-silk  sellers  obligated 
themselves  till  they  saw  the  color  of  their  money.  This  makes  an  un- 
duly extended  obligation. 

Were  it  not,  however,  for  this  selling  for  forward  delivery,  and  for 
the  carrying  privilege,  the  buyers  could  not  begin  to  operate  with  the 
same  freedom  that  they  now  do,  and  as  such  buying  is  of  great  advan- 
tage to  the  sellers  the  custom  seems  to  be  mutually  beneficial,  though 
the  load  on  the  raw  silk  dealers  at  times  must  be  very  heavy,  and  it 
invites  speculation  in  silk  on  the  part  of  manufacturers. 

Commission  House  Facilities. 

The  commission  houses  advance,  usually,  from  60%  to  75%  on 
the  gross  value  of  the  goods  sent  them  for  sale ;  perhaps  70%  would  be 
the  average  rate.  They  will  also  discount  all  sales  as  soon  as  they  are 
charged  on  the  books.  They  feel  under  some  compulsion  to  do  fully 
as  much  as  they  safely  can  in  the  matter  of  advances  so  as  not  to  dis- 
courage business  from  coming  to  them,  knowing  that  if  others  can  do 
materially  better  in  this  respect  they  will  be  favored  by  the  manufac- 
turers. 

Where  Reforms  Should  Begin. 

Now,  as  in  these  three  directions,  undue  facilities  are  furnished  to 
very  weak  concerns,  and  by  this  assistance  they  are  brought  into  being 
and  kept  alive,  though  generally  in  a  very  unsound  condition,  and  as  it 
is  the  weakness  of  these  houses  that  is  responsible  to  a  considerable  de- 
gree, as  shown,  for  the  continuous  demoralization  of  the  market,  the 
question  arises  whether  steps  could  not  be  taken  by  each  of  these  in- 
terests to  curtail  the  manufacturer's  credit  facilities,  and  thus  compel 
him  either  to  put  more  capital  into  his  business  or  to  conduct  his  opera- 
tions on  a  smaller  and  safer  scale. 

This  pressure  must  be  put  on  the  producers  from  the  outside; 
there  can  be  no  reform  from  within  in  a  case  like  this,  for  obvious 
reasons. 

Curtailing,  Raw-silk  Credits. 

Taking  raw-silk  credits,  what  should  be  the  maximum  time  al- 
lowed? After  silk  is  received,  say  for  use  in  skein-dyed  fabrics,  it 
may  be  a  month  at  the  throwster's,  two  to  four  weeks  at  the  dyer's, 
and  three  to  six  weeks  in  process  at  the  mill.  From  the  time  it  has 


THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  .MILL  CREDITS  391 

been  charged  up  it  should,  barring  undue  delays,  come  forward  as  fin- 
ished merchandise,  upon  which  advances  can  be  got,  in  about  three 
months. 

This  time,  therefore,  might  be  decided  on  as  the  maximum  time 
on  which  any  raw-silk  should  be*  sold. 

If  a  manufacturer  used  250  pounds  of  silk  a  year  per  loom,  valued 
at  $4.  a  pound,  equal  to  $1,000.,  and  bought  on  six  months'  terms, 
the  restricting  of  the  credit  by  three  months,  or  one-quarter  of  a  year, 
would  cut  him  out  of  $250.  a  loom  of  credit,  which  would  have  to  be 
replaced  with  cash  from  somewhere.  Weak  mills  would  then  have  to 
strengthen  themselves  or  greatly  curtail  their  operations. 

A  step  of  this  kind  would  have  to  be  brought  about  by  the  fairly 
collective  action  of  the  raw-silk  houses,  and  it  should  not  be  very  diffi- 
cult to  reach  such  an  agreement  as  they  are  very  severe  sufferers  from 
bad  debts,  aggravated  by  the  present  too  extended  credits.  Pressure 
from  banking  interests  would  assist. 

This  contraction  would  have  to  be  enforced  gradually  so  as  to  al- 
low reasonable  time  for  re-adjustment.  For  instance,  notice  could  be 
given  that,  on  a  stated  date  six  months  distant,  the  time  would  be  re- 
duced to  5  months,  six  months  thereafter  to  4  months,  and  again,  after 
another  half  year,  to  3  months. 

The  sanity  of  such  a  step  would  be  obvious  to  the  whole  manufac- 
turing interest,  and  would  be  welcomed  by  the  major  part  of  it. 

Quotations  on  Asiatics  would  then  be  on  the  basis  of  3  months, 
less  iy2%. 

Discriminating  Against  Commission-house  Mills. 
The  raw-silk  houses  should,  logically,  make  a  great  difference  in  the 
amount  of  the  credit  they  grant,  and  the  length  of  time  for  payment, 
between  those  houses  which  finance  themselves  and  those  which  pawn 
their  goods  for  advances  to  the  commission  houses. 

If  a  self  financed  concern  fails,  the  raw-silk  people  get  an  equitable 
share  of  the  assets,  but,  if  a  mill  under  a  commission  house  roof  comes 
to  grief,  the  pawnbroker's  lien  of  the  factors,  and  the  liens  of  throw- 
ster, dyer  and  finisher,  upon  the  goods  in  their  hands,  absorb  almost 
all  of  the  assets  and  leave  but  a  sorry  dividend  for  those  houses  which 
have  provided  the  silk  that  is  in  the  goods  under  pledge. 

The  raw-silk  merchants,  therefore,  should  sharply  discriminate  be- 
tween the  two,  as  their  risk  is  infinitely  greater  in  the  latter  case  than 
in  the  former. 

Pawning  Goods  Should  Restrict  Raw-silk  Credits. 
Should  such  a  course  prevail,  the  manufacturers,  who  would  be 
operating  more  looms  than  their  finances  warranted,  would  find  that 
for  every  thousand  dollars  of  advances  they  accepted  on  their  mer- 
chandise they  would  be  cutting  off  a  thousand  dollars  of  raw-silk 


392  THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS 

credit,  and  they  might  thus  (under  pressure)  see  the  wisdom  of  run- 
ning fewer  looms  but  on  a  much  sounder  basis. 

Putting  Pressure  on  Machine  Builders. 

The  machinery  builders,  in  their  turn,  could  be  approached  by  com- 
mittees representing  their  important  customers,  or  through  the  medium 
of  the  trade  associations,  and  strong  representations  could  be  made  to 
them  as  to  the  pernicious  effects  of  such  methods  as  have  been  re- 
ferred to. 

As,  in  the  long  run,  the  abolishing  of  this  deferred  payment  practice 
would  probably  have  little  or  no  effect  on  the  average  annual  sales  of 
machinery,  the  builders  would  probably  bow  to  the  opinion  of  the  trade 
if  reasonable  pressure  were  applied. 

What  the  Commission  Houses  Could  Do. 

We  must  now  inquire  what  could  be  done  by  the  commission  house 
interests  towards  getting  weak  mills  into  a  safe  and  sane  condition, 
the  crux  of  the  situation  being  that  they  should  be  got  into  a  position 
where  they  would  always  be  able  to  curtail  production,  and  perhaps 
stop  producing  entirely,  when  a  receding  market  demanded  it. 

So  long  as  the  present  unsatisfactory  conditions  are  stimulated  and 
continued  by  undue  commission  house  assistance,  it  would  certainly 
be  only  reasonable  to  expect  these  interests  to  concern  themselves  in 
the  matter. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  any  branch  of  the  trade  can  be  led  into 
taking  action  which  would  appear  to  be  seriously  prejudicial  to  its  own 
interests.  The  curtailing  of  financial  assistance  to  mills  may,  however, 
have  a  beneficial  effect,  rather  than  the  reverse,  on  those  interests. 

Sources  of  Commission  House  Profits. 

A  commission  house  looks  for  its  principal  income  to  commissions 
on  sales  of  merchandise,  and  the  largest  possible  sales  are  consequently 
desired,  and  whether  the  mills  make  a  profit,  no  profit,  or  a  loss  on 
the  turnover  (so  long  as  they  remain  solvent),  is  a  matter  of  only 
secondary  interest  to  the  factors. 

For  the  same  reason  that  large  sales  are  wanted,  a  large  loomage 
is  desired,  for  if  the  looms  run  the  goods  must  eventually  be  sold,  and 
commissions  will  be  earned  on  them  in  due  course. 

The  interest  account  is  a  material  source  of  profit  also,  and  there- 
fore a  desire  generally  exists  to  lend  as  much  as  possible  in  advances, 
so  long  as  the  margin  of  safety  in  the  collateral  is  unquestionable.  The 
volume  of  sales  made,  and  the  character  of  the  collateral  behind  the 
loans  are  the  matters  of  primary  interest  to  the  factors,  who  rarely 
concern  themselves  much  regarding  the  financial  affairs  of  their  con- 
signors, and  in  fact  might  feel  that  it  would  be  regarded  as  an  imperti- 
nence were  they  to  do  so. 


THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS  393 

They,  also,  are  bidders  for  the  business  of  the  mills,  and  they  have 
no  desire  to  antagonize  them  in  any  way,  as  it  might  result  in  driving 
business  into  the  hands  of  their  competitors. 

Good  Intentions  but  Bad  System. 

In  every  way,  their  intentions  are  the  best,  and  they  desire  by  all 
means  to  avert  trouble  and  promote  prosperity,  but,  unfortunately,  the 
system,  to  a  great  extent,  works  the  other  way,  and,  incidentally,  dur- 
ing times  of  poor  business  puts  much  financial  worry  on  their  shoul- 
ders, as  weak  mills  unceasingly  plead  for  more  money. 

Compensations  for  Refusing  Weak  Accounts. 

Wherein,  now,  can  a  commission  house  find  an  advantage  that  will 
compensate  it  for  discouraging  the  bringing  into  existence  of  new  but 
weak  mills,  the  preventing  the  extension  of  old  ones,  and  the  reduction 
of  loomage  in  others,  for  this  policy  would  appear  to  mean  diminished 
sales? 

The  answer  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that,  with  a  normal  relation 
between  production  and  consumption,  the  numerous  periods  of  great 
depression  would  be  minimized  in  number  and  extent,  and  that  all  the 
looms  properly  capitalized  would  then  have  a  much  greater  prospect 
of  continuous  profitable  employment  than  could  now  be  the  case. 

If  the  yardage  actually  woven  by  each  mill  were  to  be  tabulated 
over  a  series  of  years,  and  compared  with  what  could  have  been  pro- 
duced on  the  same  looms  by  continuous  operation,  the  difference  will 
be  found  to  be  enormous,  so  that  the  same  yardage  could  have  been 
produced  by  a  much  smaller  number  of  looms,  running  steadily. 

The  amount  of  merchandise  consumed  by  the  country,  and  the  con- 
sequent sales,  and  commissions  earned  thereon,  would  not  be  widely 
different  if  made  by  fewer  looms  running  full,  or  more  looms  running 
intermittently,  but  it  means  everything  to  the  well-being  of  the  in- 
dustry. In  the  former  case  a  profit  would  be  obtainable,  in  the  latter 
it  generally  would  not. 

In  fact,  if  the  average  mill  was  compelled  to  stop  one-third  of  its 
machinery,  even  if  its  distributing  and  mill  expenses  remained  the 
same,  it  would  be  much  more  likely  to  make  a  profit  than  it  ordinarily 
would  be,  besides  being  in  better  credit  and  in  far  safer  financial  con- 
dition. 

Not  only  this,  but  the  houses  that  are  relatively  strong,  yet  under 
commission  house  roofs,  suffer  seriously  in  sales  during  these  unneces- 
sarily prolonged  depressions,  and  the  commission  on  their  lost  sales  is 
a  direct  loss  to  the  factor's  pocket. 

Again,  conditions  that  tend  towards  constant  depression  keep  the 
average  of  prices  lower,  and  thus  lower  the  commissions  earned  on  a 
given  yardage  sold. 

These  considerations  should  have  weight  as  a  visible  offset  against 
the  apparent  loss  in  sales  that  reduced  loomage  should  mean. 


394  THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS 

Collective  Action  Necessary. 

Action,  to  be  effective,  would  have  to  be  taken  collectively,  by  the 
dozen  or  more  large  commission  houses  which  clear  for  the  silk  trade, 
and  as  the  managers  of  these  concerns  are  all  gentlemen  of  large  ex- 
perience and  much  intelligence,  it  should  not  be  difficult  to  secure  uni- 
formity of  action  along  such  lines  as  might  be  considered  workable ;  at 
any  rate  it  would  be  well  worth  an  effort. 

Ascertaining  Proper  Minimum  of  Capital. 

The  important  basic  fact  to  ascertain  is,  for  each  line  of  business  or 
class  of  trade  catered  to,  what  would  be  the  smallest  amount  of  quick 
assets  per  loom  that  a  concern,  clearing  through  a  commission  house 
and  entitled  to  certain  advances,  and  which  had  its  sales  cashed,  should 
possess,  and  the  having  of  which  would  enable  it  to  conduct  its  affairs 
on  a  sound  basis,  and  to  curtail  production  when  such  a  course  was  ad- 
visable. 

How  Such  Figures  Could  be  Arrived  At. 

In  determining  such  figures  there  would  be  no  intention  of  arriving 
at  anything  but  the  cold  facts,  and  conferences  between  the  factors 
and  experienced  manufacturers,  both  those  selling  direct  and  those  sell- 
ing otherwise,  should  enable  decisions  of  fair  accuracy  to  be  arrived  at. 

Under  present  conditions,  a  concern  carrying  its  own  credits  can- 
not well  get  along  with  less  than  $i,opo.  quick  capital  per  loom,  and 
even  then  it  may  have  to  borrow  considerably.  In  fact  $1,250.  would 
be  nearer  right. 

How  much  of  this  is  now  supplied  by  the  commission  houses  when 
a  concern  is  doing  a  full  and  steady  business? 

Suppose  that  a  loom  turns  off  goods  to  the  value  of  $200.,  gross, 
per  month,  and  that  the  stock  at  the  selling  office  averages  three 
months'  output,  being  made  up  of  one  month's  production  as  an  under- 
lying stock,  and  two  months'  product  held  for  delivery  against  orders, 
and  that  another  two  months'  product  is  charged  on  the  books.  This 
would  mean  a  merchandise  stock  of  $600.  per  loom,  and  open  accounts 
of  a  further  $400. 

Advances  of  70%  on  the  $600.  would  yield  $420.,  and  cashing  the 
sales,  less  15%  would  give  $340.  more,  a  total  of  $760.  per  loom,  under 
normal  business  conditions,  supplied  by  the  factors.  To  bring  this 
up  to  the  $1,250.  mark  would  require  about  $500.  more. 

Suppose,  now,  that  the  result  of  the  conferences  was  a  decision  that 
the  sum  of  active  capital  required  for  each  loom  operated,  say,  on 
skein-dyed  dress  silk  fabrics,  should  not  be  less  than  $500.,  and  that 
the  collective  body  of  commission  agents  agreed  not  to  finance  on  any 
other  basis.  How  would  this  be  put  into  effect? 

Putting  Reforms  Into  Effect. 
In  the  first  place,  new  concerns,  without  proper  capital,  would  be 


THE  CURTAILMENT  OF  MILL  CREDITS  395 

absolutely  shut  off  from  embarking  in  business  on  too  large  a  scale, 
and  so  the  crop  of  mushroom  manufacturers  that  always  springs  into 
being  after  any  period  of  activity -in  the  trade,  would  be  effectively  re- 
stricted. 

Next,  the  factors  would  decline  to  finance  any  additions  to  the  ex- 
isting loomage  under  their  roofs,  unless  each  new  loom  started  was 
backed  by  its  proper  quota  of  money.  This  would  prevent  too  fast  ex- 
pansion by  growing  concerns. 

Then,  those  undercapitalized  concerns,  which  had  started  too  weak, 
or  which  had  lost  money,  or  which  had  been  expanding  too  fast,  would 
be  invited  to  cut  down  their  loomage  to  within  the  limits  of  their  quick 
capital,  so  soon  as  their  contracts  expired. 

Thus,  a  mill  of  500  looms,  whose  statement  showed,  in  addition  to 
the  plant,  assets  of  $150,000.  would  be  asked  to  put  $100,000.  more 
into  its  business,  or  reduce  its  output  to  a  300  loom  basis,  ample 
time  and  every  facility,  of  course,  being  given  to  assist  in  the  conse- 
quent liquidation  and  re-adjustment. 

Different  Requirements  for  Different  Trades. 
Figures  as  to  capital  needed  could  be  worked  out  for  each  branch 
of  the  trade,  dress  silks,  linings,  tie  silks,  goods  made  for  sale  in  the 
grey,  etc.,  with  a  proper  distinction  between  wide  and  narrow,  and 
plain  and  fancy  looms,  as  the  money  requirements  for  the  different  lines 
may  vary  considerably. 

Manufacturers  Would  Approve. 

I  believe  that  most  manufacturers  could  be  brought  to  see  that  this 
would  make  for  their  welfare  in  the  long  run,  and  would  acquiesce 
in  it,  but  those  who  did  not  could  not  get  financed  elsewhere  by  the 
other  parties  to  the  agreement,  and  would  either  have  to  try  and  clear 
through  some  obscure  or  weak  houses,  or  get  sufficient  money  into 
their  business  to  enable  them  to  sell  direct,  a  very  difficult  matter. 

The  restricting  of  raw-silk  credits  would  assist  in  this  compulsory 
adjustment  between  loomage  and  capital,  so  that  the  whole  brunt  of 
the  re-adjustment  would  not  fall  upon  the  commission  houses. 

Reforms  That  Would  Really  Reform. 

I  believe  that  well  considered,  conservative,  and  concerted  action, 
along  lines  similar  to  what  are  here  set  forth,  should  be  feasible,  and 
I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  reforms,  instituted  along  these  lines, 
would  go  far  towards  making  the  great  silk  industry  a  business  in 
which  proper  returns  would  be  possible  for  the  capital  invested  and 
for  the  skill,  knowledge,  and  ability  ttjat  is  required  in  it., 


XXXVIII 

PLAN  FOR  THE  CREATION  OF  A  GREAT  SILK 
CORPORATION. 


The  question  of  uniting  a  number  of  mills,  representing  a  large 
broad-silk  loomage,  into  one  great  company  is  one  that  has  received 
careful  thought  from  many  experienced  men  during  the  last  decade. 

Plans  have  been  made  in  the  past  for  accomplishing  this  result, 
but,  whether  from  the  times  or  circumstances  not  being  propitious,  or 
from  the  plans  being  faulty  or  incomplete,  the  project  has  never  taken 
shape. 

Lack  of  Interest  During  Good  Times. 

When  business  is  fairly  good,  little  interest  seems  to  be  displayed 
in  the  subject,  but,  in  the  times  of  extreme  depression  into  which  the 
industry  is  periodically  plunged,  many  manufacturers  of  standing  will 
state  their  belief  that  the  organization  of  a  great  combination  would  be 
of  inestimable  value  to  the  whole  trade. 

It  is  my  desire  here  to  discuss  the  various  phases  of  such  a  prop- 
osition, to  the  end  that  the  different  points  that  must  be  considered 
in  connection  with  it  may  be  made  clear. 

Businesses,  Successful  and  Unsuccessful. 

As  is  the  case  in  all  businesses,  the  concerns  engaged  in  silk  manu- 
facturing have  met  with  widely  varying  degrees  of  prosperity.  A  few 
have  made  notable  successes;  quite  a  number  have  done  very  satis- 
factorily; some  have  lost  money;  but  by  far  the  largest  number  have 
made  but  little,  in  very  many  cases  merely  getting  a  new  dollar  for 
an  old  one,  while  all  the  time  their  plants  and  their  own  lives  have 
been  steadily  wearing  out. 

In  discussing  such  a  proposition,  it  is  not  unusual  to  hear  some 
successful  manufacturer  decry  the  project,  and,  in  declining  to  in- 


PLAN  FOR  A  GREAT  SILK  CORPORATION          397 

terest  himself  in  it,  ask  why  he  should  be  expected  to  pull  the  other 
fellow's  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire;  that  he  can  see  no  reason  for  his 
bothering  about  it;  and  that,  if  the  other  fellow  cannot  make  goods 
at  a  profit,  he  should  stew  in  his  own  juice. 

This  is  a  not  uncommon  point  of  view,  but  it  is  none  the  less  the 
case  that  it  is  greatly  to  the  interest  of  every  manufacturer,  large  or 
small,  successful  or  unsuccessful,  to  have  such  an  enterprise  carried 
through,  on  a  thoroughly  sound  basis,  whether  he  himself  elects  to 
enter  it  or  not.  Every  concern  in  the  trade  would  benefit  by  it,  but, 
properly  managed,  the  insiders  would  fare  the  best. 

Ends  to  be  Attained. 

The  ends  to  be  attained  would  be  the  supplying  of  adequate  capital 
to  such  looms  as  lack  it,  to  effect  enormous  savings  in  the  manufacture 
and  distribution  of  goods,  to  make  material  savings  in  the  purchase 
of  raw  materials  and  supplies,  to  cut  down  the  interest  charges,  and 
to  steady  the  market  prices  for  staple  merchandise,  thereby  assuring 
a  better  average  profit,  not  only  to  themselves,  but  to  the  whole  trade. 

Broad-silk  Loomage  of  the  Country. 

The  broad-silk  looms  in  the  United  States  to-day  number,  ap- 
proximately, 75,000.  Of  these  a  considerable  number — let  us  say 
10,000 — are  chronically  idle  except  when  business  is  unusually  active. 
Others,  again,  work  on  fabrics  rather  outside  of  the  regular  lines, 
whether  upholstery  goods,  shoe  tops,  hat  linings,  or  what  not. 

The  remainder,  60,000  or  upwards,  are  engaged  in  producing  a 
wide  range  of  goods  from  dress  silks  to  linings,  or  from  casket-cloths 
to  neckwear. 

Reasons  for  a  Large  Combination. 

In  order  to  accomplish  the  ends  aimed  at,  the  company  would  have 
to  be  so  large  that  practically  every  one  would  have  to  trade  with  it 
to  a  greater  or  lesser  degree.  It  must  be  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with, 
and  whose  prices  on  staple  goods,  when  fixed  as  they  would  be  on  the 
basis  of  a  close  working  profit,  would  practically  become  the  standard 
prices  for  the  market  for  the  season.  Outside  competitors  would  be 
interested  in  trying  to  get  the  same  prices,  not  in  underselling  them, 
and  the  prices  would  be  publicly  quoted  just  as  are  those  of  other  great 
corporations. 

An  aggregation  of  so  few  as,  say,  5,000  looms  would  be  powerless 
to  accomplish  this  purpose.  Looms  to  that  number  could  be  wiped 
out  of  existence  and  would  never  be  missed. 

In  the  writer's  opinion,  about  15,000  looms  would  be  necessary,  a 
very  moderate  number,  when  it  is  considered  that  it  would  represent 
only  one-fifth  of  the  present  loomage  of  the  country. 


398         PLAN  FOR  A  GREAT  SILK  CORPORATION 

Difficult  to  Make  Profit  on  Staples. 

The  main  difficulty  which  confronts  the  industry  all  the  time,  is 
the  impossibility  of  making  any  proper  profit  on  plain  or  standard 
fabrics,  owing  to  the  fierce  competition  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
buyers  dominate  the  market.  Every  one  is  afraid  of  letting  business 
— even  when  unprofitable — get  past  him,  for  fear  that  if  he  does  not 
take  it  his  looms  may  stand  idle  while  their  heavy  expenses  go  on.  In 
dull  or  bad  seasons  it  is  too  often  a  case  of  "who  will  take  the  biggest 
loss?"  not  of. "who  will  take  the  least  profit?" 

The  price  cutting  is  further  intensified  by  the  fact  that  numerous 
mills  do  not  know  with  any  accuracy  what  their  costs  are  (and  correct 
costs  are  not  easily  arrived  at),  and  they  sometimes  sell  at  a  loss  when 
they  think  they  are  making  a  profit. 

Temporary  Prosperity  Often  Due  to  Chance. 
Many  mills,  too,  that  have  done  quite  handsomely,  are  indebted 
largely  to  chance  for  their  good  fortune  in  getting  onto  profitable 
fabrics,  and,  with  the  changing  conditions  of  the  market,  they  may  any 
time  find  themselves  in  as  difficult  a  position  as  their  less  fortunate 
brethren. 

Compelled  to  Run  When  Business  is  Bad. 

It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  much  of  the  evil  of  price  cutting  is  due 
to  the  inability  of  many  mills  to  stop  running  when  business  is  bad, 
owing  to  lack  of  a  proper  amount  of  working  capital.  To  stop  means 
liquidation,  and  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  liquidate,  spread  out  as 
they  are.  They  must  run  either  for  stock  or  for  order,  and  orders 
taken  at  a  small  loss  are  less  of  a  calamity  than  the  accumulation  of 
heavy  stocks  to  eat  up  interest  and  then  to  be  forced  on  an  unwilling 
market  at  a  heavy  sacrifice. 

Let  us  now  see  how  such  a  proposition  might  be  worked  out. 

Providing  Undercapitalized  Mills  With  Funds. 

In  the  first  place,  it  should  be  noted  that  it  is  of  more  importance 
to  bring  together  the  undercapitalized  mills,  and  provide  them  with 
proper  funds,  than  the  rich  mills. 

It  is  the  former  who  are  forced  by  stress  of  necessity  to  pursue 
courses  injurious  to  the  market,  and  it  is  for  the  benefit  of  all  that 
they  be  put  on  a  better  basis. 

The  fact  that  they  have  not  made  money  should  not  weigh  too 
heavily,  for  we  see,  every  day,  mills  that  have  been  losers  being  taken 
over  by  powerful  concerns  and  put  forthwith  upon  a  profitable  basis. 

The  great  thing  is  that,  so  far  as  their  plants,  equipment,  and  lo- 
cations are  concerned,  they  should  be  properly  fitted  for  producing 
goods  economically. 


PLAN  FOR  A  GREAT  SILK  CORPORATION          399 

Company  Must  be  Organized  From  Within. 

Then,  the  concern  must  be  organized  from  within  and  not  from 
without,  that  is,  it  must  be  the  uniting  of  manufacturers  for  their  com- 
mon welfare  on  a  basis  equitable. to  all,  and  not  the  selling  out  of  their 
businesses  to  some  outside  promoter. 

Corporation  Should  Acquire  the  Mills  Absolutely. 

This  can  best  be  done  by  the  formation  of  a  corporation  which 
would  take  over  absolutely  the  entire  assets  of  the  combined  mills, 
issuing  its  own  shares  to  them  in  exchange. 

In  thus  uniting,  and  surrendering  their  individual  businesses  and 
authority,  whatever  securities  they  receive  in  exchange  must  be  se- 
curities in  the  truest  sense  of  that  much  abused  word. 

Assets  Which  Must  be  Acquired. 

What  are  the  things  which  a  manufacturer  is  thus  called  on  to  sur- 
render ? 

First,  there  is  his  plant,  covering  land,  buildings,  machinery  and 
equipment ;  then,  his  quick  assets,  including  cash  and  receivables,  book 
accounts,  equities  in  goods  advanced  on,  goods  manufactured  and  in 
process,  raw-silk,  and  materials  of  all  kinds ;  then,  any  trade-marks  or 
patents  of  value;  then,  the  employment  it  gives  him  for  his  own 
services;  and,  lastly,  the  demonstrated  profit-earning  capacity  of  his 
business — averaged  over  the  preceding  five  or  ten  years — and  which  in- 
cludes the  name  and  the  good  will  of  the  concern. 

The  owner  may  also  feel  a  natural  pride  in  the  reputation  that  he 
has  built  up  for  his  products  and  for  his  name,  and  may  have  sons 
whom  he  wishes  to  succeed  him  in  the  business. 

What  Owners  Will  Require  in  Exchange. 

To  warrant  him  in  giving  up  possessions  of  such  a  valuable  kind 
in  exchange  for  the  shares  of  the  company,  certain  things  are  essential. 

Shares  Issued  Against  Liquid  Assets. 

If  shares,  say,  first-preferred  cumulative  shares — bearing  6%  or 
7%  interest — are  to  be  issued  to  him  for  his  quick  assets,  no  one  should 
get  a  single  share  on  better  terms,  and  subscribers  of  new  cash  required 
to  properly  capitalize  the  company  would  have  to  pay  the  same.  This 
stock  would  have  first  claim  on  the  assets  in  the  event  of  dissolution. 

Shares  Issued  Against  Mill  Properties. 

Against  the  mill  assets — properly  inventoried — 6%  non-cumulative, 
second-preferred  stock  could  be  issued,  and  of  this  stock  also  no  shares 
should  be  issued  except  for  the  same  values,  and  to  the  associated 
manufacturers  only.  This  stock  would  have  second  claim  on  the  assets. 


400          PLAN  FOR  A  GREAT  SILK  CORPORATION 

How  Earning  Power  is  Provided  For. 

Then,  the  demonstrated  earning  power  could  be  capitalized  on  a  6% 
basis,  and  a  common  stock  issued  against  this,  and  the  value  of  trade- 
marks could  be  included  also. 

As  this  common  stock  would  be  only  intended  to  provide  a  dividend 
equal  to  the  former  earning  capacity,  and  not  to  enjoy  a  larger  return 
from  the  savings  to  be  effected,  the  shares,  so  issued,  might  be  limited 
to  the  6%  dividend. 

Issue  of  Additional  Common  Stock. 

Additional  common  stock  would  be  issued  to  the  mills,  proportionate 
to  their  loomage,  for  which  the  large  savings  to  be  effected  would  pro- 
vide the  dividend. 

Avoidance  of  Bond  Obligations. 

While  any  bonds  or  mortgages  lying  against  any  of  the  properties 
might  be  taken  over,  no  new  bonds  should  be  issued.  Bonds  are  obli- 
gations of  a  kind  to  be  kept  clear  of,  and,  by  not  having  any,  the  credit 
of  the  Company  would  be  much  higher,  and  its  borrowing  capacity 
greater. 

Inventorying  the  Mill  Properties. 

A  joint  committee  of  the  manufacturers  would  assess  the  values 
of  the  various  mill  assets,  from  the  standpoint  of  their  worth  as  pro- 
ductive going  concerns,  and  not  from  the  standpoint  of  the  actual 
cost  of  replacement. 

In  this  way,  obsolete  or  worn  out  machinery,  or  unsuitable  build- 
ings, would  not  be  over-valued. 

Retaining  the  Personnel  of  the  Mills. 

No  business  should  be  taken  over  without  practically  its  entire 
personnel,  managers  and  subordinates,  and  the  important  people  should 
be  made  to  agree  to  stay  with  the  concern  for  a  term  of  years.  The 
identity  of  the  various  mills  need  not  be  sunk,  and  the  names,  when  of 
value,  should  always  be  retained. 

Buildings  and  machinery  alone  have  but  a  very  limited  value,  for 
a  business  is  nothing  without  its  people,  and  these,  when  possible, 
should  always  be  retained,  so  that  affairs  would  run  along  smoothly 
and  without  any  interregnum. 

New  Capital  to  be  Provided  by  Bankers. 

A  quick  capital  of  not  less  than  $1,000.,  and  perhaps  up  to  $1,500., 
a  loom,  over  and  above  the  values  invested  in  plant  and  equipment, 
is  essential  if  the  Company  is  to  be  in  the  position  that  it  should, 
and  new  cash  would  have  to  be  provided  by  bankers  underwriting 
the  enterprise  to  an  extent  that  would  bring  up  the  quick  capital  from 
the  figures  actually  possessed  by  the  mills  to  the  above  level.  This 
would  doubtless  be  a  huge  sum  of  money,  probably  $10,000,000  or 


PLAN  FOR  A  GREAT  SILK  CORPORATION          401 

more,  and  the  providing  of  it  would  have  to  be  paid  for  in  the  usual 
way. 

Advantages  to  be  Realized. 

With  proper  capitalization,  the  Company  could  conduct  all  of  its 
affairs,  without  outside  assistance,  except  reasonable  banking  accom- 
modation at  certain  seasons,  carry  its  own  credits,  do  all  its  own  aux- 
iliary work,  throwing,  dyeing,  finishing,  printing,  etc.,  and  transact  its 
business  on  a  sound  and  sane  basis. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  usual  cost  of  selling  goods  through  com- 
mission-house channels  is  not  far  from  7^2  % ;  only  a  modest  portion 
of  this  is  actually  profit  to  the  commission-house,  the  rest  being  ab- 
sorbed in  expenses,  and  it  is  a  heavy  drain. 

Here  are  scores  of  mills,  of  smaller  or  larger  size,  each  trying  to 
cover  the  country  with  its  own  salesmen;  each  sampling  along  similar 
lines  to  an  absurd  extent;  each  largely  in  the  dark  as  to  what  can  be 
got  for  the  goods  it  is  making,  and  very  few  of  them  making  money. 

Working  as  one  concern,  all  this  endless  duplicating  of  expense 
would  be  avoided,  and  the  present  selling  cost  would  be  more  than  cut 
in  half — a  large  profit  in  itself. 

Similarly,  at  the  mills,  we  see  to-day  endless  complication  entailed 
by  the  wide  variety  of  goods  that  each  mill  makes,  and  the  interminable 
sampling  that  goes  on.  Consider  the  saving  if  one  mill  was  put  solely 
on  black  skein-dyed  goods,  another  on  tie-silks,  another  on  cotton- 
back  satins,  and  so  on.  The  general  expense  there  might  likewise  be 
nearly  cut  in  half. 

Owing  to  the  new  cash  subscribed,  the  interest  usually  paid  out  on 
loans  would  be  correspondingly  eliminated ;  the  ability  to  purchase  silk 
direct  in  Asia  and  Europe  would  have  advantages ;  the  large  volume  of 
the  general  purchases  for  the  mills  would  insure  lower  prices;  and 
the  conducting  of  the  auxiliary  branches  would  also  yield  substantial 
profits. 

Another  advantage  would  be  that,  as  each  mill  has  found  by  ex- 
perience how  to  make  one  or  other  fabric  better  or  cheaper  than  most 
of  its  competitors,  this  combined  experience  of  all  the  mills  would  be 
at  the  service  of  the  Corporation. 

Thus,  if  thirty  mills  united,  and  each  of  them  made  five  qualities 
of  peau  de  cygne — one  hundred  and  fifty  in  all,  the  best  eight  or 
ten  of  them  might  be  selected  as  the  line  to  be  shown  by  the  new 
concern. 

The  benefits  to  be  derived  from  this  joint  trading  are  fully  ap- 
parent. 

Benefits  Accruing  to  the  Manufacturer. 

The  manufacturer  would,  therefore,  enjoy  much  larger  and  steadier 
profits  than  would  otherwise  be  possible,  and  he  would  not  lose  either 
his  identity,  his  occupation,  or  his  salary,  but  would  get  rid  of  a  great 


402          PLAN  FOR  A  GREAT  SILK  CORPORATION 

deal  of  the  worry  that  now  oppresses  him,  or,  one  might  almost  say, 
that  often  overwhelms  him. 

Shares  Could  be  Sold  on  the  Stock  Exchange. 

As  the  shares  would  be  listed  and  dealt  in  on  the  New  York  Stock 
Exchange,  and  would  consequently  have  a  quoted  market  value,  any 
one  desiring  to  dispose  of  his  holdings,  in  whole  or  in  part,  could  at 
any  time  do  so  and  at  their  full  value,  though  it  would  probably  be 
wise  to  put  some  restriction  on  the  sale  of  the  shares  issued  to  the 
mills,  perhaps  requiring  that  the  major  portion  of  them  be  held  for  a 
couple  of  years  or  so. 

At  present,  any  one  wanting  to  get  out  of  the  trade  must  make 
heavy  sacrifices  to  do  so. 

Some  will  say  that  any  business  showing  a  good  balance  sheet  can 
be  readily  sold,  but  every  one  knows  that  it  is  the  individuality  of 
the  men  in  the  management  that  has  made  the  success,  and  with  them 
out  the  business  might  be  worthless,  and  any  prospective  buyer  would 
know  this. 

Selecting  a  Head  for  the  Enterprise. 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  difficulty  of  getting  a  suitable  man 
to  head  such  an  enterprise.  That,  however,  is  an  unwarranted  fear. 
Every  new  business  of  large  size  is  directed  by  some  man  who  never 
had  just  that  same  previous  experience.  Any  really  good  man, 
assisted  as  he  would  be  by  the  advice  of  so  many  of  the  best  mill 
and  market  experts  in  the  trade,  could  be  trusted  to  lead  it  success- 
fully. 

Comprehensive  Plans  Worked  Out  by  the  Writer. 

There  are  a  great  many  other  points,  of  more  or  less  importance,, 
that  will  occur  to  any  one  giving  consideration  to  the  project,  but  one 
and  all  of  them  are  susceptible  of  practical  and  equitable  adjustment. 

The  writer  has  worked  out  in  full  detail  a  complete  plan  for  the 
organization  and  management  of  such  an  enterprise,  and  every  moot 
point  has  been  thoroughly  considered  and  a  suitable  and  practicable 
method  of  dealing  with  it  has  been  found. 

Laws  Relating  to  Combinations. 

While  the  laws  prohibit  the  forming  of  so-called  trusts,  or  dominat- 
ing combinations,  there  can  never  be  any  restriction  on  one  concern 
actually  buying  out  another  and  the  proposed  method  of  uniting  is 
free  from  any  such  objections,  besides  which  is  the  fact  of  the  very 
modest  percentage  of  the  looms  in  the  industry  that  would  be  in- 
cluded in  it. 

Taking  in  the  Ribbon  Departments. 

The  ribbon  departments,  of  such  of  the  united  mills  as  had  them, 
could  also  be  included,  and  other  ribbon  mills  could  be  drawn  into- 
the  combination. 


PLAN  FOR  A  GREAT  SILK  CORPORATION          403 

Causes  of  Disaster  in  Other  Instances. 

It  has  been  urged  against  such  a  project  that  numerous  large  com- 
binations, in  various  branches  of  industry,  have  ended  in  lamentable 
disaster.  The  slightest  inquiry  will  show,  however,  that  nearly  all  of 
these  businesses  were  organized;  not  from  the  inside  by  the  manu- 
facturers themselves,  but  by  outside  promoters  who  stripped  the  busi- 
nesses of  their  assets,  to  their  own  enrichment,  and  then  left  the  or- 
ganizations to  shift  for  themselves  as  they  might. 

This  plundering  process  is  usually  accompanied  by  the  loading  of 
heavy  bond  obligations  upon  the  unfortunate  concerns,  and  the  free 
issue  of  large  amounts  of  preferential  shares  which,  in  great  part, 
represent  anything  but  assets. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  vital  necessity  of  ample  cash  working  cap- 
ital is  generally  brushed  aside,  for  these  promoters  are  bent  upon  get- 
ting cash  out  of  the  enterprise,  not  upon  putting  it  in. 

Such  concerns  could  not  succeed,  but  amalgamations,  such  as  the 
one  here  proposed,  organized  and  directed  from  the  inside,  have  scored 
notable  successes. 

Acquiring  Other  Mills. 

Provision  should  also  be  made  looking  towards  the  taking  in  from 
time  to  time  of  additional  mills  as  occasion  might  offer,  for  there  is 
no  reason  why  good  plants  should  not  be  admitted  whenever  it  can  be 
arranged. 

Reforms  and  Economies  to  be  Effected. 

Such  a  company  would  be  a  great  factor  in  helping  to  minimize  and 
combat  the  unjust  cancellations,  returns,  and  claims  that  have  grown 
to  be  such  a  serious  evil,  sapping  the  vitality  of  every  house  in  the 
market. 

It  should  be  strongly  borne  in  mind  that  only  by  such  a  union  of 
interests  can  there  be  made  possible  the  enormous  economies  to  be 
derived  from  the  joint  manufacturing  and  merchandising  of  their 
products,  and  which  forms  the  surest  foundation  for  the  continuous 
earning  of  dividends.  Trade  may  improve,  or  appear  to,  but  any  one 
who  thinks  that  the  silk  manufacturing  business  can  enjoy  steady  pros- 
perity under  existing  conditions  is  simply  shutting  his  eyes  to  the  facts. 

Nothing  Stable  in  the  Present  Situation. 

A  turn  in  the  wheel  of  fashion  may  change  any  present  prosperity 
that  a  firm  may  enjoy  into  a  condition  the  reverse  of  happy,  and 
that,  too,  in  a  very  short  time.  A  comparison  of  the  present  earnings 
of  many  mills  with  what  they  were  a  few  years  ago  would  be  most 
illuminating. 

Benefit  to  the  Trade  of  Such  a  Corporation. 
With  good  business  conditions,  there  will  probably  be  a  tendency 


404          PLAN  FOR  A  GREAT  SILK  CORPORATION 

to  forget,  in  a  measure,  the  evils  that  the  trade  has  suffered  from, 
and  to  take  less  interest  in  proposals  for  relief.  None  the  less,  it 
should  be  the  policy  of  every  mill  to  help  forward  the  realization  of 
such  a  project,  if  based  upon  sound  and  comprehensive  foundations, 
and  that,  too,  without  regard  to  whether  they  desire  to  get  into  it  or 
stay  out  of  it. 

Just  so  long  as  there  is  wanting  the  steadying  influence  of  a  great 
corporation  will  the  silk  trade  remain  in  the  very  unsatisfactory  state 
which  has  come  to  be  its  normal  condition. 


XXXIX 

THE  DENIER  SYSTEM  OF  SILK  MEASURE  AND  ITS 

ORIGIN. 

(Originally  published  in  the  Scientific  American  Supplement, 
June  8th,  1912.) 


To  explain  the  origin  of  this  system  of  counts,  it  is  necessary  to 
turn  back  to  the  weights  and  measures  used  by  the  people  of  France 
in  the  times  preceding  the  French  Revolution. 

Difficulty  of  Introducing  New  Standards. 

It  is  a  singular  and  significant  illustration  of  the  difficulty  of  chang- 
ing the  weights  and  measures  which  a  nation  has  been  accustomed  to 
use,  and  of  the  tenacity  with  which  people  will  persist  in  using  their 
old  standards,  that,  after  the  lapse  of  about  a  century  and  a  quarter, 
and  after  many  vigorous  and  persistent  efforts,  backed  by  severe  laws 
on  the  part  of  succeeding  French  governments,  to  compel  the  ex- 
clusive use  of  the  metric  system,  it  has  been  found  impossible  to  get 
those  engaged  in  the  silk  industry  to  consent  to  number  their  yarns 
by  the  standard  metric  method  of  so  many  metres  per  gramme. 

After  repeated  conferences  and  congresses  held  to  consider  this 
subject,  for  the  purpose  of  trying  to  induce  the  silk  men  to  depart 
from  their  ancient  standards,  the  best  that  could  be  accomplished  has 
been  to  secure  their  acquiescence  in  some  slight  modifications  of  the 
lengths  and  weights  used,  so  as  to  make  the  standard  more  adapted 
to  decimal  figuring. 

As  the  alterations  thus  arranged  for  were  slight,  and  as  the  changes 
in  the  values  for  length  and  for  weight  were  fairly  relative  to  one 
another,  and  therefore  made  little  commercial  difference  in  the  yard- 
age per  pound,  or  the  metres  per  kilogramme,  of  any  given  number, 


406  THE  DENIER  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  ORIGIN 

and  as  silk  could  still  be  bought  and  sold  on  the  same  denier  sizes  as 
in  the  past,  the  silk  trading  community  agreed  to  accept  the  modifica- 
tions. 

The  Denier- Aune  System. 

The  denier  system,  or  denier-aune  system,  as  it  is  often  called, 
for  numbering  silk  yarns,  has  always  been  that  of  a  fixed  length  and 
a  variable  count,  and  for  this  reason  it  lends  itself  well  to  the  show- 
ing of  the  degree  of  variation  and  irregularity  incident  to  this  class  of 
material. 

The  Denier,  Its  Value  and  Weight. 

The  denier  (from  the  Latin  "denarius,"  meaning  "containing  ten") 
was  a  small  French  copper  coin,  of  which  twelve  made  a  sol, 
or  sou.  There  were  two  sorts  of  deniers,  the  one  Tournois  (of 
Tours)  and  the  other  Parisis  (of  Paris),  the  latter  being  worth  one- 
quarter  more  than  the  former. 

The  sol  was  made  of  copper,  mixed  with  a  little  silver,  and  was 
worth  the  twenty-third  part  of  an  English  shilling.  It  was  also  called 
"douzain"  from  its  being  divided  into  twelve  deniers  Tournois. 

The  weight  of  this  denier  was  24  Paris  grains. 

Weight  of  the  Paris  Grain. 

The  French,  or  Paris,  table  of  weights  of  the  period  was  known 
as  the  "Poids  de  marc"  table,  and  in  this  the  grain  was  the  unit,  this 
Paris  grain  being  the  equivalent  of  0.8197  English  troy  grains,  of  which 
there  are  7,000  in  a  pound  avoirdupois. 

Italian  Weights  Formerly  Used. 

At  the  same  period,  there  were  in  use  in  Italy  (Genoa),  two 
weights:  one,  the  Peso  Grosso,  or  heavy  weight,  employed  in  the 
weighing  of  ordinary  commodities ;  the  other,  the  Peso  Sottile,  or  light 
weight,  used  for  gold  and  silver,  and  for  the  finer  and  more  valuable 
commodities,  including  silk. 

The  pound  weight  of  the  Peso  Sottile  was  the  equivalent  of  the 
Paris  weight  of  i  marc,  2  once,  2^/2  gros,  and  30  grains,  the  total  being 
equal  to  4,899.22  Paris  grains.  This  pound  was  divided  into  8  ounces, 
each  ounce  into  24  deniers,  and  each  denier  into  24  grains.  The  weight 
of  this  Genoa  denier  will  be  seen,  when  figured  out,  to  be  equal  to 
25.51  Paris  grains. 

French  and  Italian  Deniers. 

Here,  therefore,  we  have  these  two  silk  producing  countries,  both 
having  a  denier  in  use,  one  using  it  as  a  coin  and  the  other  as  a'  weight, 
and  both  dividing  it  into  24  grains  of  very  similar  gravity.  Hence,  a 
system  of  counts,  based  upon  the  weight  of  the  denier,  would  readily 
find  acceptance  in  both  countries. 

So  much,  at  the  moment,  for  the  basic  weight.  Let  us  now  proceed 
to  consider  the  length. 


THE  DENIER  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  ORIGIN  407 

The  Aune,  or  Ell,  and  Its  Meaning. 

This  is  based  on  the  "Aune,"  or  "Ell." 

The  name  is  derived  from  thje  Latin  "Ulna,"  meaning  the  elbow. 
It  had,  for  instance,  as  one  meaning,  the  length  of  what  a  man  could 
clasp  in  his  two  arms.  This  measure  was  in  general  use  in  many 
countries,  and  districts,  and  varied  greatly  from  place  to  place,  and  in 
France  it  varied  from  the  Paris  aune  of  about  42^  English  inches,  to 
the  Calais  ell  of  about  68.4  English  inches. 

The  length  of  the  aune,  that  was  formerly  in  the  most  general  use 
throughout  France,  is  stated  to  have  measured  3  Paris  feet  (pieds),  7 
Paris  inches  (pouces),  and  8  Paris  lines  (lignes),  this  being  equal  to 
46.53  English  inches.  This  was  the  old  aune;  the  French  "aune  usu- 
elle,"  or  "nouvelle,"  measured  then,  it  is  stated,  about  47%  English 
inches. 

Difficulty  of  Determining  Equivalents. 

I  may  here  point  out  that  it  is  a  matter  of  the  most  extreme  diffi- 
culty, or  even  a  practical  impossibility,  to  ascertain  the  exact  equiva- 
lent of  measures  that  are  based  upon  different  standards,  even  when 
we  know  precisely  what  those  standards  are,  and  no  two  investigators 
are  likely  to  arrive  at  exactly  the  same  conclusion. 

Length  of  the  Metre. 

This  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  different  eminent  authorities  dis- 
agree as  to  the  exact  length  of  the  metre  in  English  inches.  For  this 
measure  the  writer  accepts  the  length  of  39.370432  inches  per  metre, 
which  is  a  very  widely  used  constant,  and  which  is  said  to  have  been 
worked  out  by  Captain  Clark. 

Length  of  the  Aune. 

The  exact  length  of  the  aune  was  similarly  open  to  question.  The 
Lyons  Conditioning  House  informs  me  that  the  length  of  the  aune 
which  was  used  in  these  measurements  was  1.1884  metres,  which  is 
equivalent  to  46.79  English  inches.  The  Encyclopedia  Britannica, 
eleventh  edition,  1911,  gives  the  value  of  the  aune  of  France  as  1.1885 
metres  (A.  D.  1812).  M.  Paul  Lamotier  gives  the  length  as  3  pieds, 
7  pouces,  10  lignes,  10  points,  which  works  put  as  1.188447  metres. 

The  old  table  was,  12  points  =i  ligne  (line)  :  12  lignes  =  I  pouce 
(inch)  :  12  pouces  =  i  pied  (foot).  The  pied  was  equal  to  .324839 
metres. 

Having  disposed  of  these  preliminaries  as  to  standards  we  will 
continue. 

How  Silk  was  Formerly  Sized. 

The  old  method  of  determining  the  size  of  the  silk,  or  sizing  it  as 
it  is  called,  was  to  measure  off  80  skeins  of  120  aunes  each,  making 
a  total  length  of  9,600  aunes,  and,  using  as  weights  the  copper  coins 


408  THE  DENIER  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  ORIGIN 

known  as  deniers,  weighing  24  Paris  grains  each,  seeing  how  many 
of  these  coins  it  took  to  exactly  balance  the  skein,  and  then  the  size 
was  stated  as  that  many  deniers. 

Thus,  if  14  of  the  coins  just  balanced  it,  it  was  a  14  denier  silk; 
if  it  was  lighter  than  14  but  heavier  than  13  it  was  a  13/14  denier 
size,  and  so  on. 

Improved  Method  of  M.  Matley. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  an  observant  silk  mer- 
chant, who  is  said  to  have  been  a  certain  M.  Matley,  realizing  the 
inconvenience  and  expense  of  making  such  long  reelings  for  sizing 
tests,  and  seeing  that  both  the  24  grains  of  the  denier  and  the  9,600 
aunes  of  the  silk,  could  be  exactly  divided  by  24,  and  that  they  would 
still  bear  the  same  relationship  to  each  other,  conceived  the  idea  of 
taking  for  the  weight  1/24  of  the  weight  of  the  denier,  or  I  Paris 
grain,  and  for  the  length  of  the  test  skeins  1/24  of  the  9,600  aunes, 
or  400  aunes,  instead,  and  he  is  said  to  have  devised  a  suitable  ap- 
paratus for  measuring  these  400  aune  skeins  with  precision. 

The  trade  willingly  accepted  the  change,  and,  as  the  relationship  of 
length  to  weight  was  just  the  same,  the  old  method  of  expressing 
the  size  in  deniers  continued,  although  the  weighings  were  then  being 
made  in  grains. 

Metric  System  Did  Not  Dislodge  the  Denier. 
When,  following  the  French  Revolution,  the  metric  system  was 
adopted  by  the  government  of  France,  the  silk  people  went  on  sizing 
their  silk  in  deniers  as  of  old,  the  only  modification  being  that  they 
converted  their  former  standards  of  length  and  weight  into  their 
metric  equivalents,  and  used  them  as  before. 

Metric  Equivalent  of  the  Aune. 

The  length  of  the  400  aunes,  at  1.1884  metres  per  aune,  was  475.36 
metres,  and  so  a  length  of  476  metres  was  taken  as  the  standard  for 
measurement,  this,  on  account  of  its  easier  divisibility,  being  a  more 
convenient  number  than  475. 

Taking,  as  the  length  of  the  metre,  the  very  usually  accepted 
equivalent  of  39.370432  inches,  we  come  to  a  length  of  520.565  Eng- 
lish yards  as  the  equivalent  of  the  476  metres. 

Metric  Equivalent  of  the  Denier. 

The  equivalent  of  the  weight  of  the  1/24  denier,  or  i  Paris  grain,  is 
0.0531  grammes,  this  in  turn  being  equal  to  0.8197  English  troy  grains, 
of  which  there  are  7,000  in  the  pound  avoirdupois.  The  more  exact 
equivalent  of  the  Paris  grain  is  0.053117  grammes. 

Old  Length  Per  Pound  of  a  I  Denier  Silk. 
Under  this  system,  the  yardage  per  pound  of  a   i    denier  silk 


THE  DENIER  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  ORIGIN  409 


would  be  the  number  of  times  that  0.8197  would  go  into  7000,  multi- 
plied by  520.565.  Thus,  7000-^0.8197  X 520.565  =4,445,474  yards 
per  pound  for  silk  sizing  I  denier.  This  is  a  length  of  2525.84  miles. 

Of  course,  there  is  no  I  denier  silk,  as  the  thickness  of  the  ordi- 
nary single  cocoon  filament  would"  generally  be  two  or  three,  or  more 
times  that  size,  and,  even  then,  single  ends  are  too  delicate  to  work 
alone,  so  it  is  necessary  that  several  cocoon  threads  should  be  joined 
together  in  the  reeling  to  make  a  thread  of  suitable  size  for  manu- 
facturing. 

In  practice,  an  8-10  denier  silk  is  about  the  finest  reeled,  and  it 
is  very  rare  that  as  fine  a  size  as  this  is  handled  in  the  United  States. 

The  Paris  Congress  of  ipoo. 

In  the  year  1900,  there  was  held  in  Paris  one  of  the  congresses 
before  alluded  to,  at  which  some  modifications  of  the  existing  standard 
were  agreed  upon,  the  changes  effected  being  brought  about  by  re- 
ducing both  the  standard  length  and  weight  in  a  somewhat  similar 
degree. 

Modifications  Proposed  and  Accepted. 

The  length  to  be  measured  was  brought  down  from  476  metres 
to  450  metres,  or  about  5.46  per  cent.,  while  the  weight  used  was 
reduced  from  0.0531  grammes  to  0.05  grammes,  a  reduction  of  about 
5.84  per  cent. 

Since  then,  this  modification  has  received  general  acceptance  and 
the  count  of  all  raw  silk  is  now  based  upon  this  revised  standard, 
which  is  the  number  of  half  decigrammes  that  a  skein  of  450  metres 
weighs,  the  size  being  still  expressed  in  deniers. 

Weight  of  the  Gramme. 

The  weight  of  a  metric  gramme  is  equal  to  15.43236  troy  grains, 
which  would  make  the  kilogramme  15,432.36  grains,  and  this,  divided 
by  7,000  grains  per  pound,  gives  2.204626  (usually  expressed  as 
2.2046)  pounds,  as  the  weight  of  the  kilogramme. 

The  decigramme,  or  i/io  of  the  gramme,  is  therefore  equal  to 
1.543236  grains,  and  the  half-decigramme  weighs  0.771618  grains. 
The  450  metres  equal  492.1304  yards. 

New  Length  Per  Pound  of  a  I  Denier  Silk. 

Dividing  7,000  grains  per  pound  by  0.771618  and  multiplying  the 
number  found  by  492.1304  yards,  we  get  4,464,531  yards  as  the  length 
of  a  pound  of  i  denier  silk,  the  same  being  2,536.67  miles. 

The  book,  "The  Value  of  Conditioning,"  published  by  the  United 
States  Conditioning  and  Testing  Company,  gives  a  length  of  4,464,528 
yards,  a  difference  in  figuring  of  only  3  yards. 

In  expressing  the  size  in  deniers,  an  8-10  denier  silk  should  run 
between  8  and  10  deniers;  a  13-15  silk,  from  13  to  15  deniers.  A  silk 


410  THE  DENIER  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  ORIGIN 

of  this  sizing  must  not  be  finer  than  13.50  deniers,  or  coarser  than 
14.50. 

By  dividing  the  yardage  per  pound  of  a  I  denier  silk  by  the  denier- 
age  of  any  given  size,  the  result  will  be  the  yardage  per  pound  of  that 
silk. 

Difference  Between  Old  and  New  Standards. 

The  difference  between  the  revised  standard  and  the  old  one 
amounts  to  less  than  0.0043  per  cent.,  or  about  one  two-hundred- 
and-thirty-third,  and  this  is  a  most  trifling  difference.  A  silk  that 
formerly  sized  as  14  deniers  would  now  be  14.06  deniers. 

Testing  Silk  for  Size. 

As  one  test  only  of  the  size  of  a  silk  would  be  wholly  insufficient 
to  properly  show  the  yardage  per  pound  of  such  a  variable  material, 
the  accepted  method  is  to  draw  ten  skeins  from  different  parts  of 
the  bale,  and  make  three  reelings  from  each,  or  thirty  in  all.  The 
average  size  of  these  is  stated  as  the  denierage  of  the  silk,  while  the 
sizes  of  the  individual  reelings  show  fairly  well  the  degree  of  irregu- 
larity of  the  material.  This  variation,  or  "spring,"  is  called  by  the 
French  "ecart." 

The  Valuable  Compound  Sizing  Test. 

The  Conditioning  House  in  New  York  makes  a  further  excellent 
test  of  20  reelings  of  4,500  metres  each,  for  showing  more  surely  the 
average  size,  as  these  long  reelings  over-run  the  varying  inequalities 
in  size,  and  this  new  test  (the  Compound  Sizing  Test)  is  much  more 
dependable  where  length  per  pound  is  wanted. 

The  old  test  shows  the  variableness  of  the  size  much  better,  so 
the  use  of  both  of  them  is  valuable. 

Modified  Denier  System  Accepted  Generally. 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  new  system  is  now  firmly  established 
in  all  the  silk-producing  countries,  it  may  properly  be  regarded  as 
permanent. 


XL 

EFFICIENCY  STANDARDS  IN  MANUFACTURING 
(Originally  published  in  the  American  Silk  Journal,  April,  1911.) 


During  the  last  few  years  the  public  attention  has  been  strongly 
directed  toward  efficiency  in  manufacture.  The  remarkable  work  that 
has  been  done  by  Harrington  Emerson,  Frederick  W.  Taylor,  H.  L. 
Gantt,  Frank  B.  Gilbreth,  and  others,  in  standardizing  mechanical  oper- 
ations and,  by  minute  analysis  and  careful  experiment,  enormously 
raising  the  efficiency  of  the  worker,  is  at  last  beginning  to  receive  the 
attention  that  it  deserves. 

Wastefulness  of  Present  Methods. 

In  perusing  the  writings  of  these  investigators  one  is  profoundly 
impressed  with  the  facts  set  forth.  They  show  that,  of  the  labor  ex- 
pended in  most  trades,  probably  from  one-third  upwards  is  absolutely 
wasted,  and  that  losses  in  production,  from  the  lack  of  a  proper  provi- 
sion of  standardized  materials  and  appliances,  are  appalling. 

Each  of  us  is  apt  to  think  that  such  things  might  occur  in  the  other 
fellow's  business,  but  not  in  ours,  but  the  conclusion  cannot  be  escaped 
from  that  all  lines  of  trade  have  been  following  the  rule-of-thumb 
methods  in  which  they  have  grown  up,  and  with  an  annual  waste  that 
is  colossal. 

Extraordinary  Results  of  Scientific  Methods. 

Two  illustrations  will  show  what  can  be  done. 

Bricks,  for  instance,  have  been  laid  much  in  the  same  way  for 
thousands  of  years.  Bricklayers  are  supposed  to  be  highly  skilled 
craftsmen,  and,  of  course,  would  scoff  at  the  idea  of  anyone  teaching 
them  anything  about  their  trade,  particularly  some  one  who  was  not  a 
working  mason. 


412     EFFICIENCY   STANDARDS   IN   MANUFACTURING 

Mr.  Gilbreth,  who  had  read  of  Mr.  Taylor's  work  in  the  steel  in- 
dustry, attacked  the  problem,  and  by  a  careful  analysis  of  the  brick- 
layer's motions,  and  some  rearrangement  of  the  methods  of  supply- 
ing the  materials  to  the  workman,  he  was  able  to  cut  down  the  neces- 
sary motions  from  18  to  4^4. 

By  exact  and  scientifically  correct  methods,  he  was  able  also  to 
increase  the  daily  work  done  per  bricklayer,  on  a  given  job,  from  1,000 
to  3,500  bricks  laid,  and  that,  too,  with  less  fatigue  to  the  workman. 
Needless  to  say  that  the  bricklayers  earned  materially  more  money 
and  the  job  cost  the  employers  vastly  less. 

The  other  instance  deals  with  the  loading  of  92-pound  pigs  of  iron 
onto  freight  cars — work  done  by  a  low  class  of  day  laborers,  and 
which  would  seem  to  be  about  as  unpromising  a  direction  for  the 
application  of  scientific  principles  as  could  be  imagined.  This  was 
one  of  Mr.  Taylor's  investigations,  and  the  observations  made  and 
records  kept,  over  a  period  of  months,  led  to  the  framing  of  a  standard 
practice  for  handling  the  work  which  raised  the  daily  weight  of  pig 
iron  loaded  by  each  man  from  12^2  tons  to  47^2  tons. 

Such  improved  methods  could  never  have  been  devised  by  any 
workman,  or  set  of  workmen,  for  themselves.  They  would  have  had 
neither  the  opportunity,  the  time,  the  knowledge,  nor  the  scientific 
training  necessary  for  the  task. 

Every  Manufacturer  Should  Investigate. 

Therefore,  let  not  the  old  and  experienced  silk-mill  manager  put 
on  a  superior  smile  when  it  is  suggested  that  proper  inquiry  into  our 
present  methods  may  result  in  a  similar  revolution.  If  he  feels  like 
sneering,  let  him  read  what  the  gentlemen  above  quoted  have  written, 
and  unless  he  be  an  imbecile  he  will  promptly  sit  up  and  take  notice. 

Basic  Principles  of  Scientific  Efficiency. 

The  fundamental  principles  of  such  methods  are  that  the  efforts 
of  the  workman  must  be  so  put  forth  as  to  incur  a  minimum  of  both 
bodily  and  mental  fatigue,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  day  he  will  be  any- 
thing but  exhausted,  and  that  there  be  no  suggestion  of  "speeding  him 
up"  in  the  proceedings;  that  every  unnecessary  motion  or  part  of  a 
motion  be  avoided ;  that  any  work  which  could  be  done  by  low-priced 
labor  should  not  be  done  by  high-priced  labor;  that  the  arrangement 
of  machines,  materials,  or  appliances  be  so  planned  as  to  avoid  giving 
the  worker  an  unnecessary  pound  to  lift  or  an  unnecessary  inch  to 
stretch;  in  having  all  machinery  and  accessories  of  the  most  perfect 
kind  and  in  the  very  best  condition ;  in  having  all  materials  and  their 
preparation  kept  at  a  high  standard;  in  having  exact  and  comprehen- 
sive standards  worked  out  for  every  operation  and  for  every  material 
thing  used;  and,  finally,  the  seeing  that  the  workpeople  shall  share 
liberally  in  the  economies  so  effected. 


EFFICIENCY   STANDARDS   IN   MANUFACTURING     413 

Time  and  Patience  Required. 

Everything  cannot  be  done  in  a  week  or  a  month,  and  in  such  a 
complicated  business  as  silk  manufacturing  a  long  period  of  patient 
tabulating,  investigating,  and  experimenting,  by  trained  observers, 
would  have  to  be  gone  through  with  before  a  comprehensive  body  of 
standard  practice  could  be  evolved. 

None  the  less,  a  beginning  can  be  made  and  each  in  his  own  way 
can  observe  and  accurately  record  the  details  of  the  operations  passing 
daily  before  his  eyes.  A  stop  watch  to  time  each  movement  is  a  neces- 
sity, and  the  observer  will  at  first  find  the  making  of  records  to  be 
anything  but  easy. 

Besides  this,  the  natural  hostility  of  the  workers  to  any  new  de- 
parture must  be  reckoned  with,  but  when  they  understand  that  the 
ultimate  aim  is  one  which  will  bring  them  increased  earnings  their 
objections  will  probably  melt  away. 

Beginning  With  the  Weaving(. 

As  the  most  important  work  of  the  mill  is  the  weaving,  and  as 
upon  the  full  output  of  that  department  depends  greatly  the  prosperity 
of  the  mill,  it  would  be  well  to  make  the  first  attack  there. 

In  every  mill  there  are  a  few  workmen  whose  output  is  always 
far  in  excess  of  the  average,  just  as  there  are  some  whose  production 
is  always  at  the  bottom  of  the  list.  These  men  who  get  out  so  many 
yards  do  not  seem  to  be  working  harder  than  the  others  but  yet  they 
get  more  yards  off. 

The  fact  is  they  are  not  working  harder,  nor  as  hard,  but  they  are 
making  fewer  unnecessary  motions,  and  those  that  they  do  make  are 
more  effective.  They  have  unconsciously  travelled  part  of  the  way 
along  the  road  to  "efficiency." 

Suppose  that  we  select  one  of  these  men  and  for  the  time  being 
consider  him  as  our  standard,  or  as  100  per  cent.,  those  that  get  off 
less  goods  being  of  correspondingly  lower  percentage  of  efficiency. 

Analysing  Motions,  and  Causes  of  Stoppages. 

Every  one  of  the  necessary  movements  that  this  man  makes  in  the 
course  of  his  work  must  be  accurately  timed  and  tabulated,  and  the 
average  time  of  each  worked  out. 

Such  motions  will  be  the  changing  of  shuttles,  putting  quills  in 
shuttles  and  threading  them,  finding  the  pick,  stopping  and  starting  the 
loom,  loosening  and  tightening  the  warp,  picking  back  for  defects, 
finding  broken  warp  ends,  piecing  up  and  passing  end  through  heddle 
and  reed,  cutting  off  piece  and  unrolling  it,  etc. 

Then  the  causes  that  require  the  movements  must  be  recorded, 
the  breakage  of  warp  ends,  filling  picks,  and  so  forth,  as  well  as  any 
other  factors  that  would  have  a  bearing  on  the  case,  whether  belt  trou- 
bles, irregularity  of  engine  speed,  temperature  of  room,  or  what  not. 


414    EFFICIENCY   STANDARDS   IN   MANUFACTURING 

Unnecessary  motions  or  parts  of  motions,  whether  with  hands  or  feet, 
are  likewise  to  be  observed. 

In  this  way  a  body  of  facts  regarding  the  methods  of  this  first- 
class  weaver  is  accumulated,  which,  for  the  time  being,  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  best  practice. 

We  now  begin  an  analysis  of  the  work  done  by  the  ordinary 
weavers,  and  by  the  poor  weavers,  on  the  same  goods  and  under  the 
same  conditions,  and  we  soon  find  by  comparison  with  our  standard 
wherein  their  methods  are  inferior,  and  so  can  instruct  them  how  to 
improve. 

The  good  weaver,  in  turn,  should  be  shown  the  tabulations  of  his 
movements,  and  which  of  them  appeared  to  be  unnecessary  and  there- 
fore a  waste  of  effort,  and  he  should  be  collaborated  with  in  the  direc- 
tion of  their  elimination. 

By  giving  the  weavers  under  observation  some  extra  pay  while  ex- 
periments were  being  tried  out,  and  tabulations  were  being  made, 
their  co-operation  could,  no  doubt,  be  readily  enlisted. 

Increased  Pay  a  Great  Stimulant. 

Some  manufacturer  will  say,  "That  is  all  very  fine,  but  you  could 
never  get  the  hands  in  our  mill  to  agree  to  be  regulated  in  that  way." 

This  would  usually  be  the  case,  at  first,  but  there  could  be  got 
one,  or  two,  or  half  a  dozen  to  try  it,  and  when  the  others  saw  that, 
week  by  week,  these  men  were  earning  25%  to  50%  more  than  the 
rest,  it  would  not  be  long  till  the  majority  of  the  help  would  be  anxious 
to  fall  in  line  also. 

Investigating  the  Mechanical  Equipment. 

In  considering  the  time,  and  the  amount  of  effort  required  to  make 
each  necessary  motion,  great  attention  must  be  given  to  the  question 
as  to  whether  any  changes  in  the  arrangement  of  the  machinery  or  ap- 
pliances would  facilitate  the  work. 

Is  the  machine  too  high  for  convenience?  Has' the  weaver  an 
undue  distance  to  stretch  at  any  time?  Can  the  distance  he  has  to 
walk  to  get  back  of  his  loom  be  reduced  ?  Does  the  belt  interfere  with 
him?  Could  the  harness  be  simplified?  Has  he  undue  work  to  do 
in  adjusting  the  weights  on  his  warp,  or  would  some  mechanical  device 
enable  him  to  do  it  quicker  and  with  less  effort?  Has  his  shuttle  the 
best  tension  and  threading  devices?  Is  his  belt  in  good  shape  and 
does  it  slip  ?  Is  the  power  steady  ?  Etc. 

The  question  of  such  things  as  the  character  and  preparation  of  the 
warp  and  filling,  the  temperature  and  moisture  of  the  room,  etc.,  be- 
longs in  another  category. 

High-Priced  Labor  on  Low-Priced  Work. 

Then,  there  is  no  use  in  a  $12.  weaver  doing  things  that  can  be 
attended  to  by  a  $4.  boy.  If  he  wants  filling  he  should  not  leave  his 


EFFICIENCY   STANDARDS   IN   MANUFACTURING     415 

loom  to  go  after  it;  it  should  be  brought  to  him.  When  he  takes  off 
a  cut,  a  boy  should  take  it  to  the  rack  for  him.  Toilet  rooms  should 
be  centrally  located,  and  everything  should  be  so  arranged  that  the 
weaver  would  not  need  to  be  away  from  his  loom  an  unnecessary 
moment. 

Furnishing  Appliances  to  the  Workers. 

If,  by  having  the  use  of  a  stool,  the  fatigue  of  the  worker  would  be 
less,  and  allowing  that  the  use  of  it  would  not  interfere  with  his  work, 
then  he  should  have  a  stool. 

If  it  be  found  that  the  tools  used  by  the  workers,  and  commonly 
provided  by  themselves,  are  frequently  far  from  what  they  should  be 
for  the  best  work,  then  it  will  be  economy  on  the  part  of  the  manage- 
ment to  supply  all  workers  with  the  highest  grade  of  tools  free  of 
charge. 

How  Belting  Matters  Should  be  Handled. 

The  belts  in  a  mill  should  all  be  in  charge  of  one  man  who  should 
be  held  responsible  for  their  condition  and  for  any  belt  failures.  No 
weaver  or  other  machine  operative  should  ever  touch  a  belt,  and  it 
would  generally  be  well  if  the  ordinary  fixer  were  also  forbidden  to 
do  so. 

The  very  best  grade  of  belting  should  be  adopted  as  the  standard, 
and  nothing  below  that  should  be  either  ordered  or  accepted.  Then, 
this  belt  man  should  be  required  to  see  that  all  belts  were  constantly 
kept  in  first-class  order,  neither  too  tight  nor  too  loose,  and  properly 
dressed  when  they  required  it,  any  changes  being  made  after  hours. 

There  would  then  be  no  loss  of  product  from  belt  failures,  or  from 
stopping  of  looms  to  tighten  up  belts ;  no  waste  of  power  from  unduly 
tight  belts,  and  no  diminished  speed  of  looms  from  belt  slippage,  a 
factor  which  few  people  take  proper  account  of. 

Standardizing  Mill  Supplies. 

The  highest  standards  should  also  be  adopted  for  all  supplies,  har- 
nesses, twines,  reeds,  shuttles,  paper,  bobbins,  quills  and  everything 
that  could  possibly  be  a  factor  in  production.  The  best  should  not 
only  be  bought  but  everything  in  use  should  be  kept  in  prime  condition. 

Individuality  of  the  Loom. 

The  peculiarities  of  the  individual  looms  must  not  be  overlooked. 
The  work  got  off  by  each  weaver  is  carefully  recorded,  but  little  or 
no  attention  seems  to  be  paid  to  the  machine  itself,  unless  it  is  work- 
ing so  badly  as  to  attract  notice. 

Nevertheless,  each  loom  has  its  own  individuality  and  it  should  be 
studied.  Certain  weavers,  kept  on  the  same  grade  of  goods,  may  be 
shifted  around  at  intervals  to  a  succession  of  other  looms,  and  their 


416    EFFICIENCY   STANDARDS   IN   MANUFACTURING 

relative  output  compared.  In  this  way  some  approximate  data  might 
be  collected  and  those  looms  on  which  the  weavers  had  the  poorest 
results  could  be  investigated  and  got  into  better  trim. 

Character,  Widths,  and  Speeds  of  Looms. 

In  considering  makes  or  types  of  looms,  also,  those  ones  which 
impose  the  least  effort  or  fatigue  upon  the  operatives  should,  all  other 
things  being  equal,  be  accorded  the  preference. 

The  width  of  looms  is  of  more  importance  than  many  people 
imagine.  They  should  be  sufficiently  wide  for  the  goods  they  are  to 
be  regularly  used  for  and  not  an  inch  wider.  Each  additional  inch 
makes  a  higher  initial  cost,  uses  more  power,  occupies  more  space, 
makes  a  greater  call  upon  the  weaver's  strength,  lessens  the  speed  of 
running,  and  gives  the  operative  farther  to  go  in  passing  round  his 
loom.  The  cumulative  effect  of  these  drawbacks  in  a  year  is  far  from 
being  negligible. 

Speeds  of  looms  are  largely  governed  by  what  the  warps  will 
stand.  For  this  reason  the  best  silk  is  the  cheapest^  and  if  the  highest 
and  best  quality  is  adopted  as  the  standard,  and  if  the  best  of  work 
is  secured  in  the  throwing,  dyeing,  warping,  beaming,  drawing-in,  and 
mounting,  it  will  follow  that  loom  stoppages  for  broken  ends,  even 
when  running  at  high  speeds,  will  be  greatly  reduced,  and  cost  of 
weaving  and  expense  will  be  correspondingly  low. 

Evolving  Tables  for  Maximum  Weaving  Speeds. 

Again,  the  maximum  speed  that  would  be  practicable  will  depend 
not  only  on  the  silk,  but  on  the  width  of  the  goods,  the  character  of 
the  weave,  number  of  harnesses,  count  of  the  reed,  number  of  shuttles, 
picks  per  inch,  etc. 

Just  the  same,  if  a.  certain  standard  of  silk  be  adhered  to,  and  if 
the  loom  be  all  that  it  should,  it  ought  to  be  possible  eventually  to 
work  out  tables  in  which  maximum  speeds  would  be  noted  for  given 
fabrics,  of  given  widths,  counts,  etc.,  just  as  in  machine-shop  work, 
in  which  tables  have  been  evolved  giving  the  speeds,  depths  of  cuts, 
etc.,  which  can  best  be  employed  for  different  metals  and  for  different 
tools. 

These  constants  would  be  based  upon  the  use  of  silks  of  the  highest 
market  qualities  regularly  procurable,  and  persons  using  lower  qualities 
would  then  understand  that  slower  speeds  would  probably  be  necessary. 

Usual  Loom  Output. 

In  the  manufacture  of  plain,  or  simply  constructed,  broad  silks, 
an  output  of  65%  to  70%  of  the  theoretical  production  is  considered 
good  practice,  the  theoretical  production  being  the  number  of  picks 
that  the  loom  could  beat  in  a  given  time  if  running  without  stop. 


EFFICIENCY   STANDARDS   IN   MANUFACTURING     417 

Let  us  see  now  how  much  of  this  30%  to  35%  loss  is  absolutely 
unavoidable. 

Details  of  Loom  Output,  and  Necessary  Stoppages. 

We  will  assume  the  warps  to  be  300  yards  long,  for  while  longer  ones 
can  often  be  profitably  run,  yet  they  are  then  much  less  responsive 
to  the  changing  needs  of  the  market,  lock  up  an  undue  amount  of 
capital,  and  are  inconvenient  in  other  ways. 

The  loom  must  stop  for  each  change  of  shuttle,  for  each  time  a 
cut  is  taken  off,  and,  when  the  warp  is  woven  down,  while  a  new  one 
is  being  mounted. 

Now,  let  us  suppose  that  our  cloth  is  36  inches  in  the  reed,  with  100 
picks  per  inch,  and  pieces  cut  at  60  yards.  Then,  we  run  our  loom 
at  150  picks  per  minute,  and  our  quills  give  us  1,500  yards  of  filling 
each. 

Next,  allow  10  seconds  for  each  change  of  shuttle  (which  is  two 
or  three  times  what  would  probably  bet  necessary),  10  minutes  for 
making  each  cut,  unrolling  piece,  and  starting  up  again,  and  I  hour 
for  removing  the  woven  out  warp  and  starting  up  a  fresh  one,  all 
of  which  should  be  quite  practicable  with  the  proper  arrangements. 

Three  hundred  yards  is  10,800  inches,  and,  with  the  picks  and 
speed  stated,  il/2  inches  will  be  woven  per  minute,  taking  7,200  min- 
utes to  weave  out  the  warp. 

Each  quill  will  weave  10  inches,  so  there  will  be  1,080  shuttle  changes 
in  addition  to  10  extra  ones  for  the  10  headings,  or  1,090  in  all,  which, 
at  10  seconds  each,  would  require  182  minutes  for  the  warp.  Five 
cuts  at  10  minutes  each,  and  the  change  of  warp  at  60  minutes,  add 
no  to  this,  making  a  total  time  required  for  weaving  out  the  warp  of 
7,492  minutes,  and  the  7,200  minutes  that  the  loom  is  actually  beating 
in  96.10%  of  this. 

This  per  cent,  is  what  is  theoretically  obtainable,  and  in  whatever 
degree  we  fall  short  of  this  our  efficiency  is  diminished. 

Determining  the  Causes  of  Lost  Production. 

Having  worked  out  the  ultimate  possibility  on  lines  similar  to  the 
above  we  must  then  find  out  with  absolute  precision  what  are  the  fac- 
tors which  make  up  this  additional  loss  of  product  amounting  to  25% 
or  30%. 

If  each  one  of  them  is  determined,  its  cause  ascertained,  and  a 
standard  practice  adopted  which  will  eliminate  the  drawbacks  in  whole 
or  in  part,  we  will  begin  at  last  to  make  a  near  approach  to  the  pos- 
sible maximum. 

Of  course,  irregularity  of  orders,  changes  of  styles,  and  many  other 
things,  exercise  a  profound  effect  upon  the  production,  but  they  would 
do  so  in  any  event,  whether  such  methods  in  the  direction  of  scientific 
efficiency  were  employed  or  not. 


4i8    EFFICIENCY   STANDARDS   IN   MANUFACTURING 

Result  of  General  Application  of  Principles. 

So  far,  we  have  only  been  discussing  the  weaving,  but  if  similar 
methods  were  to  be  employed  in  each  branch  of  the  work,  and  in  each 
department  of  the  mill,  the  cumulative  effect  would  be  extraordinary, 
and  it  goes  without  saying  that  by  such  methods  not  only  would  labor 
unit  costs  be  greatly  reduced  but  far  less  waste  would  be  made  than 
is  now  the  case. 


INDEX 


Adulteration  of  silk  goods,  30-39. 
When  adulteration  is  justifiable, 
30-31.  Adulteration  of  rubber 
goods.  30-31.  Shoddy  and  woolens, 
31  Fraudulent  representations, 

32.  Silk  weighting,   and  why,  32- 

33.  Processes    of    weighting,    33. 
Limits   of  weighting,   33-4.      Rela- 
tive weights  of  fibre  and  adulter- 
ant,   34.      Difficulty   of    legislating, 

34.  Shanghai    silks,    140.      Dyers 
and  their  charges,   34-35.     Advan- 
tage   of   adulteration    to    the    con- 
sumer.       35.          Difficulties       with 
weighted    silk,    35-36.      Where    the 
blame   lies   for   overweighting,    36. 
Retailers'       advertisements,       and 
th'eir    expenses,    36-37.      Trying   to 
do    the    impossible,    37.      Refusing 
to  overweight  goods,  37.     The  bar- 
rier  to   the    sale    of   sound    goods, 
38.     The  weighting  of  piece  dyes, 
38-39.      A   suggested   remedy,   39. 

Advances,  commission  house,  390. 
Making  stock  for  commission 
house  advances,  310-311. 
Advertised  fabrics,  300-305.  De- 
structive competition,  300.  The 
demands  of  distributers,  300. 
Manufacturers  try  to  do  the  im- 
possible, 300-301.  Creating  a  de- 
mand by  advertising,  296-297. 
Advertising  meritorious  fabrics 
to  consumers,  39.  Necessity  of 
appealing  to  the  public  direct, 
301.  Margins  of  profit,  301.  Dif- 
ferent views  regarding  advertis- 
ing, 301-302.  Goods  suitable  for 
trade  marking.  302.  Advertising 
costs  not  paid  by  public,  302. 
Agreements  to  maintain  retail 
prices,  302-303.  Prosecuting  in- 
fringers,  303.  How  a  beginning 
may  be  made,  303.  Trying  out 
various  methods,  303-304.  Differ- 
ent mediums  for  publicity,  304. 
Value  of  an  established  brand, 
305.  Time  needed  to  produce  re- 
sults, 305.  Reasonable  stock  to 
be  carried,  310.  Other  important 
points,  305.  Let  consumers  know 
who  manufactures  their  goods, 
305. 

Allentown  Reed,  Harness  and  Mill 
Supply  Co.,  83a. 

American  Silk  Spinning  Co.,  Spnn 
Silks,  3Sa. 

American   Silk  Journal,  91a. 

Analysis  of  percentages  and  costs 
of  weightings,  40-56. 

Analysis  of  the  relative  costs  of 
plain  and  fancy  goods,  204-210. 

Andreae    Silk    Co.,    Broad    Silks,    12a. 

Annual  per  capita  supply  of  new 
wool,  32. 

Arbitration,  raw-silk  rules,  142. 
With  reference  to  claims  against 
throwsters,  149. 

Arlington  Mills,  tests  for  moisture 
in  worsted  yarn,  126-127. 

Asiatic   silks,    terms    and    conditions 


of^sale,  22-23.     Long  credit  given, 

Auction  sales,  regarding,  313-319 
Marketing  of  goods  at  anrtinn 
259.  How  Btocl  will  accuamSla°te; 
313.  Perplexity  of  the  sales  man- 
ager, 314.  Losses  incurred  bv 
carrying  stock,  314.  Low  prices 
at  private  sale,  314-315.  Why 
sales  agents  dislike  auctioning 
315-316.  Limitations  of  the  use 
of  the  auction  room,  316.  Condi- 
tions incident  to  a  successful  sale 
«Jl6.  Quantity  of  goods  to  be 
marketed,  317.  Advance  prepara- 
tions to  be  made,  317.  When  to 
sell  and  what  to  sell,  317-318.  All 
buyers  on  the  same  footing,  318. 
Relation  of  prices  to  values,  318 
Terms  of  sale,  318.  Yearly  clean- 
m§>up  sales,  312.  Clean  stocks 
and  profit  making,  319 

Aunes   and   yards,   table  of,   108a 
0™debis'  losses  to  be  provided  for, 
200.     Percentage  of  loss,  250. 

Banking  system,  its  limitations  ne- 
cessitate the  commission  house 
system,  262,  388-389. 

Printing   Co.,   Fine   Printing, 


Barrier  to  the  sale  of  sound  goods, 

oo. 

Bem  driving>    comPared    with    rope, 
Belting,  good  practice,  122a.     Power 

SftSm.  &«.  \\\l    Leather 

Bengal   silks,   boil-off,    20. 

Blacklisting,    233. 

Bleaching,  before  dyeing  light 
shades,  103.  A  damage  caused  by 
peroxide  bleaching,  353 

Bliss  Silk  Throwing  Co.,  Throw- 
sters, 39a. 

Bloomsburg     Silk     Mill,     Silk     Mfrs., 

BcVi~off'  dvers'  charges  the  same, 
18.  Losses  caused  by  ignorance 

?%  ^9N£?ess4ty  of  systematic 
tests,  43,  51.  Value  of  tests  in 
d£eir;S'  49.  How  dyeing  costs  are 
affected,  44-45.  How  it  affects 
the  weighting,  41-43.  Variations 
m  dyeing,  49-51.  Boil-off  and 
weighting  table,  45.  Combination 
test  for  raw  and  thrown  silk,  52- 
53.  Boil-off  of  various  silks,  20, 
146.  Shanghai  rereels  and  native 
filatures,  140.  Thrown  silk  after 
soaking,  143. 

Borne,  Scrymser  Co.,  Textile  Oils, 
STn« 

Broad  silks,  the  costing  of,  152-174. 
Cost  calculation,  168,  176.  Analy- 
sis of  cost  calculation,  172,  195- 

Brown  Spin-Wright  Co.,  Spinning 
Frames,  107a. 

Brusa   silks,   boil-off,   20. 
Bnhlmann,     A.     W.,     Finishing     Ma- 
chinery,  109a. 


42O 


INDEX 


Buildings,  costs  vary  with  locality, 
7.  Investment  in  land  and  build- 
ings, 381.  Mortgages  on  realty,  380. 
Depreciation,  374.  For  throwing 
mills,  70-71.  Printing  plant  re- 
quirements, 78.  Area  for  finish- 
ing plant,  89.  Requirements  for 
a  dye  house,  99. 

Biitterworth  &  Sons  Co.,  H.  W.,  Ma- 
chinery, 125a. 

Buyers'  attitude  towards  over- 
weighting, 37-38. 

Cancellations,  claims  and  returns, 
357-362.  Acceptance  of,  257-258. 
Losses  from,  160-161.  Fancy 
goods  subject  to  cancellation,  210. 
Acquiescence  in,  by  commission 
houses,  258-259.  Cancellations  re- 
sulting from  credit  office  methods, 
251-252.  Too  short  delivery  time, 
275.  Due  to  late  delivery,  361. 
Efforts  to  avert  cancellations,  252. 
Cause  stock  to  accumulate,  307. 
A  heavy  burden,  359.  Motives  for 
cancellations,  359-360. 

Canton  silks,  boil-off,  20,  48,  146. 
Raw-silk  rules,  138-143.  Use  with 
cotton  warps,  328.  Classification 
tables,  34a-36a. 

Capital  required  in  silk  manufac- 
turing, 379-384.  Precarious  con- 
dition of  under-capitalized  firms, 
379.  Money  requirements  of  man- 
ufacturers, 379-380.  Assets  which 
mill  owner  should  have,  263. 
Minimum  capital  needed  per  loom, 
394.  Employment  of  surplus 
money,  380.  Limiting  capital  for 
mill  departments,  380.  Desirabil- 
ity of  keeping  capital  liquid,  380- 
381.  Working  with  insufficient 
funds,  381.  Small  capital  of  mush- 
room concerns,  389.  Figuring  the 
annual  mill  production,  381.  De- 
tails of  the  monthly  expenditure, 
381.  Investment  in  plant,  381. 
Amount  and  value  of  materials 
in  process,  382.  Merchandise  stock 
and  open  accounts,  382.  Capital 
actually  employed,  382.  Relations 
between  capital  and  turnover, 
244.  Overtrading  carried  to  ab- 
surd lengths,  382-383.  Mills  should 
be  able  to  shut  down,  383-384. 
Capital  requirements  of  mills  dif- 
fer, 384.  Determining  the  capital 
required,  394.  Figuring  for  each 
branch  of  trade,  395.  Weak  con- 
cerns the  bane  of  the  industry, 
384.  Providing  capital  for  a  great 
silk  corporation,  400-401. 

Cavaprnaro,  John  J.,  Machinery,  114a. 

Century  Throwing  Co.,  Throwsters, 
41  a. 

Cevennes   silks,   boil-off,    48.   146. 

Chameleons,  liability  to  imperfec- 
tions, 351. 

Cltamnlain  Silk  Mills,  Spun  Silk,  27a. 

Changes  in  merchandising  methods. 
284-290. 

Characteristics  of  Japanese  Raw- 
Silks,  19-29. 

Cheney  Bros.,  Silk  Mfrs..  3a. 

Child  labor,  age  limit.  5.  Employ- 
ment of  minors.  217-218.  State 
legislation,  235-236. 

China,  wages  in,   223. 

China  silks,  boil-off,  20,  48,  146. 
Raw-silk  rules,  138-143. 

Chinese   weights  and   measures,    51a. 

Chfftirk.  James,  Consulting?  Silk 
Specialist.  '80a. 

CJa'rns.  cancellations  and  returns, 
357-362.  Acceptance  of,  257-258. 
Claims,  just  and  unjust,  345-346. 


What  has  the  buyer  a  right  to 
expect?  357-358.  True  test  of  rea- 
sonableness of  claims,  358.  Dif- 
ferent causes  entailing  claims, 
358-359.  Allowances  should  be 
kept  at  a  minimum,  359.  Great 
corporation  could  resist  them,  403. 
Selling  agents  expect  impossible 
perfection,  359.  Cancellations  a 
heavy  burden,  359.  Motives  for 
cancellations,  359-360.  How  the 
manufacturer  is  hurt,  360.  Con- 
tract breakers  should  be  sued, 

360.  Responsibility  of  the  selling 
agents,    360.      Underhand    methods 
employed,     360-361.       Withholding 
assortments    on    orders,    361.       Or- 
ders   of    cutters    are    a    joke,    361. 
Cancellations     for     late     delivery, 

361.  United   action   required,    361- 

362.  Side  lights  on  the  situation, 
362.     Standard  sales  contracts  and 
their  enforcement,  362.     Claims  on 
raw-silk,     142.       Claims     on     firms 
doing   commission   work,    199. 

Classifications  of  raw  silk,  15.  Can- 
ton Filatures,  34a-36a.  China 
silks,  ISa.  China  Steam  Filatures, 
20a-22a.  Haineen  Improved  Reel, 
26a.  Haineen  Filature,  Crossed, 
26a.  Japan  Filatures,  standard 
chops,  40a.  Japan  Rereels,  stan- 
dard chops,  42a.  Unsatisfactory 
Japanese  classifications,  25-26. 
Tsatlee,  Improved  Reel,  24a.  Tsat- 
lee  Filature,  Crossed,  26a.  Fila- 
ture Tussahs,  30a-32a. 

Clearances  of  weights,  201.  Proce- 
dure to  determine  waste  made  on 
thrown  silks,  51. 

Coal,  calorific  value,   113. 

Cockling,   its  causes,   351. 

Colby,   Arthur   H.,    Steam   Coals,   81a. 

Color  matching,  in  the  dye  house, 
103-104.  Limitations  of  the  dyer, 
278-279. 

Combination  Test,  for  raw  and 
thrown  silk,  52-53.  Forms  to  use, 
53-56. 

Commission  Houses,  Dry  Goods,  Re- 
lation between  mills  and  their, 
243-265.  High  class  of  men  in  the 
business,  243.  Functions  of  a 
commission  house,  243-244.  Rela- 
tions between  capital  and  turn- 
over, 244.  Steps  towards  prevent- 
ing overtrading,  392.  Old  basis 
of  note  settlement,  244.  Facilities 
for  discount  afforded  by  English 
and  Canadian  banks.  244-245. 
Why  the  commission  house  has 
come  into  being,  245.  Serious 
drawbacks  to  the  system,  245. 
Too  great  financing  facilities  af- 
forded, 388-389.  Stock  goods  made 
for  advances,  310-311.  Stock  goods 
mean  commissions  for  factors. 
311.  General  unprofitableness  of 
textile  manufacturing,  245-246. 
Good  work  of  some  commission 
houses,  246.  Two  interesting  inci- 
dents, 246-247.  Written  agree- 
ments, 247.  How  mushroom  con- 
cerns are  started,  247-248.  In- 
terests of  mill  and  factors  at  var- 
iance, 248.  Attitude  of  loom  build- 
ers and  raw-silk  dealers.  248-249. 
Good  intentions  but  bad  system, 
393.  Refusing  to  sell  for  weak 
concerns,  249.  Compensations  for 
refusing  weak  accounts,  393.  As- 
certaining proper  minimum  of 
capital.  394.  Commissions  charged 
nnd  what  thev  include,  250-251. 
Methods  of  handling  accounts, 


INDEX 


421 


250-251.  Sources  of  commission 
house  profits,  392-393.  Profit  on 
the  interest  account,  251.  Same 
commission  under  varying"  condi- 
tions, 251.  Loses  entailed  by 
credit  office  methods,  251-252. 
Giving  mills  a  chance  to  protect 
themselves,  252.  Conflicting-  de- 
partmental interests,  253.  Dodging 
the  guarantee  which  has  been 
paid  for,  253.  The  equitable 
course,  253-254.  Revaluing  stock 
goods,  254.  Reasons  for  the  re- 
valuing, 254.  A  pawnbroking 
parallel,  254.  Forcing  manufac- 
turers into  bankruptcy,  255.  How 
sales  are  hindered,  255.  Fiction 
of  the  time  for  collection  of  ac- 
counts, 255-256.  Transfer  com- 
missions, 256-257.  Acceptance  of 
claims,  cancellations  and  returns, 
257-258.  Acquiescence  in  cancel- 
lations by  commission  houses,  258- 
259.  Manufacturers  held  by  con- 
tracts, customers  are  not,  259. 
Marketing  goods  at  auction,  259. 
Attitude  toward  auction  sales, 
315-316.  Allowance  of  special  dis- 
counts, 259.  Conflicting  interests 
in  the  same  department,  260. 
Favoritism  may  be  shown,  260. 
Commission  house  orders.  260-261. 
A  Continental  method  of  financing 
mills,  261.  Faulty  banking  sys- 
•  tern  necessitates  the  commission 
house,  262.  Raw-silk  houses 
might  finance  mills,  262.  Goods 
hypothecated  made  from  silk  un- 
paid for,  262.  Creditors  who  are 
protected  by  liens,  262.  Advances 
made,  390.  Funds  required  for  ad- 
vances to  mills,  262.  Effect  on 
the  sales  of  raw-silk  houses  finan- 
cing mills,  262-263.  Mills  could 
procure  silk  at  best  prices,  263. 
Restriction  of  speculation.  263. 
No  specified  dates  for  maturity  of 
raw  silk  bills,  263.  Assets  which 
the  mill  owner  should  have,  263. 
Great  benefits  of  such  a  system, 
263-264.  Joint  interests  of  manu- 
facturer and  raw-silk  dealer,  264. 
Manufacturers  should  study  their 
contracts,  264.  Nominal  commis- 
sion less  than  the  actual  expense, 
264.  Increased  cost  of  merchan- 
dising, 264-265.  Agents  with- 
drawing from  actual  work  of 
spiling,  265.  Limitations  of  sales 
managers,  265.  Functions  re- 
tained by  commission  houses,  265. 
All  should  be  interested  in  the 
mill  profits,  265.  Collective  action 
necessary,  394.  Putting  reforms 
into  effect,  394-395. 

Competition  on  staple  goods,  re- 
quirements, 337-338. 

Compound  sizing  test,  its  value,  410. 

Conditioning,  or  testing,  of  silk  and 
others  fibres.  134-151.  Scientific 
and  unscientific  tests,  52.  Igno- 
rance of  how  to  use  tests  made, 
52.  General  ignorance  respecting 
conditioning,  134.  Opportunities 
of  loss,  134-135.  Meaning  of  con- 
ditioning, 135.  What  a  condition- 
ing house  is,  52.  Tests  that  may 
profitably  be  made,  135-136.  Ex- 
periences as  to  profit  of  condi- 
tioning, 136-137.  European  and 
.American  points  of  view,  43,  137. 
Conditions  under  which  tests  are 
made,  13"-138.  T^rms  and  con- 
ditions of  raw-silk  trading,  138- 
143.  Rules  of  the  silk  throwing 


trade,  143-144.  Price  list  of  the 
U.  S.  Conditioning  and  Testing 
Co.,  145.  Sizing  tests  for  raw  silk, 

145.  European     certificates,     145- 

146.  Loss   on   Japanese  raw   silks, 
22-23.       Conditioning    and    boil-off 
tests,    146.      Combination    Test    for 
raw      and       thrown      silk,       52-53. 
Waste  in  throwing,  146-147.     Fool- 
ish views  of  some  manufacturers, 

147.  Illogical    basis     for    throw- 
sters'     charges,      147.        Manufac- 
turers' inconsistent  demands,   147- 

148.  The  soaking  bath,  and  what 
it     covers     up,     148.       Determining 
the    throwing    waste,    148.      Insol- 
uble   substances    used    in    soaking 
baths,      148.      Rule      for      figuring 
throwing      waste,      149.         Claims 
against    throwsters,    149.       Neces- 
sity   for    systematic    tests,  43,    51. 
Determinations    yet    to    be    made, 
149-150.      Important     points,      150. 
Variation  in  tests,    150.      Effect   of 
moisture   on   silk,    150.      Elasticity 
and   tenacity,    150-151.      The   value 
of  conditioning,   151. 

Conditioning  house  tests,  forms  for 
use,  53-56. 

Construction  of  fabrics,  modifying, 
157-158. 

Copper  printing  rollers  and  their 
cost,  81-82. 

Cop  yarn,  allowance  for  tubes,  65. 

Copying    competitors'    ideas,    343. 

Cost  sheets  and  tables  of  weights, 
175-190.  Amplified  cost  calcula- 
tion form,  175-177.  Broad  silk 
cost  calculation,  176.  Tables  of 
weights  and  their  uses,  177. 
Take-up  in  weaving,  177.  Figur- 
ing the  size  of  the  silk,  177-178. 
Percentage  of  waste,  178.  Cal- 
culating weight  of  warp,  178. 
Calculating  weight  of  filling,  178- 
179.  Modifications  due  to  soap 
and  oil,  179.  Waste  in  throwing, 
179.  Dyers'  prices  based  on 
thrown  weights,  179.  Sundry 
labor  and  expenses.  179-180. 
Shrinkage  in  length,  180.  How  to 
apportion  certain  costs,  180. 
What  the  general  expense  in- 
cludes, 180.  Other  factors  in  the 
cost,  180-181.  Things  which  af- 
fect weaving  cost,  181.  Illustra- 
tive examples,  165-166.  Analysis 
of  broad  silk  cost  calculation, 
195-196.  Another  broad  silk  cost 
calculation,  168.  Analysis  of 
same,  172.  Ribbon  cost  calcula- 
tions, 173-174.  Analysis  of 
same,  172.  Additional  points  of 
importance,  181.  Scope  of  the 
tables  of  weights.  181.  Silk  warp 
tables,  182-184.  Silk  filling  tables, 
185-190.  Working  from  standard 
bases,  195. 

Costing  of  broad  silks  and  ribbons, 
152-174.  Difficulties  of  cost  de- 
termination, 152-153.  Undercosting 
by  mill  managers,  153.  Principals 
must  understand  costing,  154.  Use 
of  standard  forms,  154-155.  Rib- 
bon maniifacturers'  cost  sheet, 
154-155.  What  may  happen  if  no 
form  is  used.  155.  Main  elements 
of  cost,  155.  Expenses  that  are 
well  defined,  155.  Estimating 
weaving  rate,  156.  Variation  in 
size  of  silk  from  twist,  156-157. 
Adjusting  construction  to  suit 
varying  sizes  of  silk,  157-158. 
Take-up  in  weaving.  158.  Allow- 
ance for  waste,  158.  Filling  fig- 


422 


INDEX 


ured  on  reed  width,  158-159.  Raw- 
silk  price,  159.  Fluctuations  in 
raw  material  prices,  and  losses 
entailed,  160.  Losses  from  can- 
cellations, 160-161.  How  should 
raw-silk  be  figured?  161.  The 
general  expense  item,  162.  Losses 
from  "seconds,"  162.  Plant  de- 
preciation, 162-163.  Interest  ex- 
pense. 163.  Cost  of  designing, 
163-164.  Sample  collections,  281- 
283.  Partners'  salaries,  164.  How 
to  apportion  the  general  expense, 
164-165.  Importance  of  steady 
operation,  165.  Illustrative  cost 
sheets,  165-166.  Numbering  of 
silks,  166.  Rules  for  determining 
counts,  166-167.  Remarks  on  the 
cost  calculation  form,  167.  Broad 
silk  cost  calculation,  168.  Weight 
of  the  organzine,  167.  Weight  of 
the  tram,  169.  Value  of  warp  and 
filling  tables,  169.  Take-ups,  and 
wastes,  169.  Working  out  details, 
169-170.  What  general  expense 
should  include,  170.  Plant  depreci- 
ationf  370.  Piece  dye  and  yarn 
dye  costs,  312.  Costs  affected  by 
size  of  output,  337.  Other  items 
of  the  cost,  171.  Weights  and 
weightings,  171.  Further  re- 
marks, 171.  The  costing  of  rib- 
bons, 172.  Ribbon  cost  calcula- 
tions, 173-174.  Analyses  of  the 
costs,  172.  Errors  brought  to 
light,  199. 

Costs  of  plain  and  fancy  goods, 
analyses  of  the  relative,  204-210. 
Different  elements  of  cost,  204- 
205.  Subdivision  of  expenses, 

205.  Relation     of     equipment     to 
labor  cost,  205-206.     Departmental 
costs,      206.        Apportionment      of 
plain    and    fancy    goods    expenses, 

206.  Different  methods   of  appor- 
tionment,   206-207.       Fancy     goods 
expenses,   207.     Pattern  work   and 
harness     expense,     207.       Costs    in 
connection     with     printed     warps, 
207-208.      Loom     stoppages,     sam- 

Sling  materials,  and  waste,  208. 
ther  causes  of  increased  ex- 
pense, 208.  How  necessary  equip- 
ment increases  overhead  charges, 
209.  Presenting  the  expenses  on 
the  cost  sheets,  209.  Allotment 
of  expense  per  loom,  209-210. 
Cancellations,  interest  charges, 
and  production,  210.  Daily  ex- 
pense to  be  borne  by  each  loom, 
210. 

Cotton,  classification  of  raw,  63-65. 
American,  63-65.  Sea  Island,  65. 
White  Egyptian,  65.  Barbados, 
65.  Length  and  diameter  of 
staple,  66.  Regain  of  moisture, 
126,  98a,  lOOa. 

Cotton  mill  competition,  326-333. 
Immense  scope  of  the  competi- 
tion. 326-327.  What  the  annual 
production  may  amount  to,  327. 
How  low  grade  silks  have  been 
displaced,  327-328.  Wide  variety 
of  attractive  goods  made,  328. 
How  the  production  is  marketed, 
328.  Average  range  of  prices, 

328.  Usual    materials    used,    328- 

329.  Conditions  attaching  to  sales 
of   silk    and   cotton   mixtures,    329. 
Tarns  employed  and  usual  widths 
of    goods,    329.      What    the    cotton 
mill      provides,      329.      Prices      at 
which    the    mills    sell,    330.      Com- 
petition   among  the   weavers,    330. 
Prices  charged  to  converters,  330. 


Filling    furnished    by    converters, 

330.  Difficulties  encountered,   330- 

331.  Another    way    of    operating, 
331.  Silk  warp  goods  made  in  cot- 
ton    mills,     331.       Mill     conditions, 
331.      Wages   in   cotton   mills,    331. 
Where   the    silk    mill   has    the   ad- 
vantage,     332.      Merit     of      cotton 
warp    fabrics,    332.      Cotton    mills 
also     have      their     troubles,      332. 
Clever     men     can     always     find     a 
profit,     332.      Lost     business     that 
can   never  be  regained,   332-333. 

Cottons  exported  to  Asia,   320. 

Cotton  yarns  and  their  use  in  silk 
manufacture,  57-66.  Value  of  the 
yarn  dealer's  advice,  57-58.  Proper 
yardage,  58.  Twists  used  in  cot- 
ton spinning,  58.  How  twists  af- 
fect lengths,  58-59.  Table  of  com- 
parative lengths  and  twists,  59. 
Yarn  for  moir6s,  60.  Reverse 
twists,  60.  Testing  the  counts, 
60-61.  Table  for  numbering  cot- 
ton yarn,  104a.  Causes  of  too 
coarse  counts,  61.  Deception  re- 
garding counts  of  fine  sizes,  61. 
Twist  and  length  of  harness 
twines,  61-62.  Care  in  ordering, 
62.  Counts  modified  by  merceriz- 
ing, and  gassing,  62.  Effect  of 
dyeing  on  weight,  62.  Under- 
standings as  to  accuracy  of  spin- 
ning, 62-63.  Twists  employed  in 
spinning,  58.  English  rules  as  to 
counts,  63.  Yardage  per  pound, 
58.  Raw  cotton  classifications, 
63-65.  New  York  differences  in 
grade,  63-65.  Sea  Island  cotton, 
65.  Specks  in  the  yarn,  351.  Im- 
perfections in  goods,  347-348.  Al- 
lowances for  tubes,  65.  Regain  of 
moisture,  126,  98a,  lOOa.  Moist 
storage  for  cops,  65.  Lengths  and 
diameters  of  the  cotton  staple,  66. 

Counts  of  yarns,  testing,  60-61.  De- 
ception regarding  fine  sizes,  61. 
Causes  of  unduly  coarse  counts, 
61.  Principles  of  the  various 
yarn  counts,  106a.  Customs  pre- 
vailing in  the  English  yarn  trade, 
112a.  Manchester  yarn  contract 
rules,  •  120a.  Table  for  finding 
counts  of  cotton  yarns,  104a.  How 
silks  are  numbered,  166.  Rules 
for  ascertaining  counts,  166-167. 

Credits,  curtailment  of  mill,  385- 
395,  289.  Evils  of  chronic  over- 
production, 385-386.  Current  ad- 
verse conditions,  386.  Favorable 
factors  in  the  situation,  386-387. 
Inabilitv  of  weak  concerns  to 
stop,  387.  Losses  from  overstocked 
markets,  387.  Booking  order 
business  at  a  loss,  387-388.  Pro- 
duction increases  when  it  should 
contract,  388.  Temporary  depres- 
sions become  continuing  ones, 
388.  Cycles  of  good  and  bad 
years,  388.  Where  the  blame  lies, 
388.  How  a  mushroom  concern 
starts,  389,  247-248.  Extended 
time  of  machinery  sales,  389,  248- 
249.  Long  credit  given  on  Asiatic 
raw-silk,  389,  248-249.  Carrying 
of  silk  and  forward  selling,  389- 
390.  Commission  house  facilities, 

390.  Where    reforms    should    be- 
gin,     390.        Curtailing      raw-silk 
credits,     390-391.       Discriminating 
against    commission    house    mills, 

391.  Considerations    affecting    the 

f ranting   of   raw-silk    credit,    391- 
92.       Pawning    goods    should    re- 
strict     raw-silk      credit,      391-392. 


INDEX 


423 


Putting-  pressure  on  machine 
builders,  392.  What  the  commis- 
sion houses  could  do,  392.  Sources 
of  commission  house  profits,  392- 

393.  Good  intentions  but  bad  sys- 
tem, 393.     Collective  action  neces- 
sary,    394.       Ascertaining     proper 
minimum     of     capital,     394.     How 
such   figures   could   be    arrived   at, 

394.  Putting-   reforms   into   effect,    „ 
394-395.      Different      requirements 
for    different    trades,    395.      Manu- 
facturers would  approve.    Reforms 
that    would    really    reform,    395. 

Crew's  Silk  Finishing  and  Piece 
Dye  Works,  61  a. 

Crocker-Wheeler  Co.,  Electrical  Ap- 
paratus, 121  a. 

Curtailment  of  mill  credits,  289,  385, 
395. 

Customs  of  the  cotton  yarn  trade, 
62-63,  121a. 

Cutter-up  and  his  methods,  286. 
Losses  attendant  upon  business 
with  cutters,  286-287. 

Deflacieux,  Claude,  Jacquard  Card 
Cutter,  99a. 

Degumming,  severe  treatment  in- 
jures silk,  21. 

De  Long,  Joseph  J.,  Cotton  Yarns, 
31  a. 

Denier  system  of  silk  measure  and 
it  origin,  405-410.  Difficulty  of 
introducing  new  standards,  405. 
The  Denier-Aune  system,  406. 
Value  and  weight  of  the  denier, 
406.  Weight  of  the  Paris  grain, 
406.  Italian  weights  formerly 
used,  406.  French  and  Italian 
deniers,  406.  The  aune,  or  ell, 
and  its  meaning,  407.  Difficulty 
of  determining  equivalents,  407. 
Length  of  the  metre,  407.  Length 
of  the  aune,  407.  How  silk  was 
formerly  sized,  407-408.  Improved 
method  of  M.  Matley,  408.  Met-ric 
system  did  not  dislodge  the 
denier,  408.  Metric  equivalent  of 
the  aune,  408.  Metric  equivalent 
of  the  denier,  408.  Former  length 
of  a  1  denier  silk,  408-409.  Paris 
congress  of  1900,  409.  Modifica- 
tions proposed  and  accepted,  409. 
Weight  of  the  gramme,  409.  New 
length  per  pound  of  a  1  denier 
silk,  409-410.  Difference  between 
the  old  and  new  standards,  410. 
Testing  silk  for  size,  410.  The 
valuable  Compound  Sizing  Test, 
410.  Modified  denier  system  gen- 
erally accepted,  410. 

Depreciation  of  plant,  what  to 
figure  for,  370-378.  Depreciation 
a  matter  of  first  rate  impor- 
tance, 370.  Keeping  machinery  at 
highest  efficiency,  376.  Improve- 
ments compeP  replacements,  370- 
371.  How  speeds  affect  rate  of 
depreciation,  370.  Wide  diver- 
gence of  views  regarding  re- 
newals, 371-372.  Methods  of  figur- 
ing depreciation,  372.  Differences 
in  wear  and  tear,  372.  Life  of 
machinery,  372-373.  WThat  to 
write  off  on  machinery,  373. 
Power  plant  depreciation,  373. 
Depreciation  on  buildings,  374. 
Increasing  land  values,  374.  Di- 
minished value  of  special  equip- 
ment, 374.  Effect  entailed  by 
changing  fashions,  375.  When 
machinery  should  be  discarded, 
375.  Standard  percentages  of  de- 
preciation, 162-163,  375.  How  the 
books  should  be  kept,  376.  What 


the  inventory  should  include,  376. 
Jacquard  cards  and  fire  insurance, 
376-377.  Withdrawing  money  for 
renewals  from  the  business,  377. 
Some  English  experience,  377-378. 
Funds  set  aside  should  earn  in- 
terest, 378. 

Designing,  figuring  costs  of,  163-164. 
Cost  of  designing  and  sampling 
usually  underestimated,  193.  De- 
partmental labor,  205.  Depart- 
mental expenses,  207.  Artists' 
sketches,  81.  Faulty  designing 
cause  of  imperfections,  353. 

Directing  the  production  of  a  textile 
mill,  334-344.  Knowledge  and  in- 
tuition both  needed,  334.  Very 
few  measure  up  to  the  situation, 
334-335.  Requisites  which  a  sales 
manager  should  possess,  335-336. 
Usual  training  of  a  sales  man- 
ager, 336.  Profit  making  as 
against  volume  of  sales,  336-337. 
A  common  type  of  department 
manager,  337.  Organizing  to  sell 
the  mill's  production,  337.  Cost 
affected  by  the  size  of  the  output, 
337.  What  competition  necessi- 
tates, 337-338.  Determining  upon 
a  selling  policy,  338.  Advance 
orders  and  stock  goods,  338-339. 
Mills  left  too  much  in  the  dark, 
279-280.  Risks  and  expenses  un- 
loaded on  mills,  288-289.  Dealing 
with  accumulations  of  stock,  399. 
Sales  policy  must  conform  to 
equipment,  339.  Laying  out  the 
work,  339-340.  Valueless  opin- 
ions of  distributers,  340.  Pricing 
foods  at  what  they  will  bring, 
40.  Dead,  or  dying,  fabrics  and 
colors,  340.  Foreign  sample  col- 
lections, 340-341.  Getting  up 
samples  and  fixing  prices,  341. 
Sampling  in  unprofitable  direc- 
tions, 280.  Assortment  of  colors 
should  be  limited,  341.  Short 
warps  of  undesirable  colors,  280. 
Color  harmonies  and  discords,  341. 
Color  harmony  chart,  341-343. 
Color  matching  and  its  limita- 
tions, 278-279.  Heavy  expense  of 
sample  collections,  343.  Copying 
competitors'  ideas,  343.  Difficul- 
ties with  printed  goods,  343. 
Trouble  from  haphazard  sam- 
pling, 277-278.  Other  points  of 
importance,  343-344. 

Distributers  of  silks,  to  blame  for 
overweighting,  36.  Valueless  opin- 
ions, 340. 

Doherty  Silk  Co.,  Henry,  Silk  Mfrs. 
9a. 

Drills,  speeds  for  carbon  steel  drills, 
128a. 

Dyeing,  should  a  mill  do  its  own? 
95-108.  What  a  manufacturer  ex- 
pects to  gain,  95-96.  Volume  of 
"his  dyeing  bills,  96.  Customary 
discounts,  96.  Dyers'  charges,  34- 
35.  Price  lists,  43,  96-98,  106-108. 
Charges  based  on  thrown  weight 
of  silk,  179.  Charging  by  the 
ounce,  43-44.  Weighting  furnish- 
ed against  orders,  41-43.  Weight- 
ing as  affected  by  boil-off,  53. 
Costs  as  affected  by  boil-off,  44- 
45.  How  the  dyer  may  be  mulct- 
ed, 46-47.  Table  showing  how 
soap  and  water  may  be  used  to 
dyers'  detriment,  47.  Value  of 
boil-off  tests,  49.  Percentage 
basis  for  weighting  charges,  44. 
Reasonable  sized  lots,  279.  Loca- 
tion for  a  dye  house,  98.  Impor- 


424 


INDEX 


tance  of  water  supply,  98-99.  Im- 
purities in  water,  99.  Necessary 
land,  building-s,  etc.,  99.  Power 
and  steam  required,  99-100.  Oper- 
ations of  skein  dyeing-,  100.  Vari- 
ous weighting  agents,  100-101. 
Loading  the  silk,  101-102.  Special 
operations,  102.  Coloring  and  fin- 
ishing-, 103.  Bleaching,  103.  Dye 
house  equipment,  103.  Sewerage 
difficulties,  103.  Color  matching, 
and  lighting,  103-104.  Dyers' 
ability  to  match  colors,  278-279. 
Other  facilities  needed,  104.  How 
soap  is  handled,  104.  Recovery 
of  tin,  104.  Special  machines 
used,  104.  Methods  of  water  ex- 
traction, 104-105.  Piece  dyeing, 
and  equipment  needed,  105.  Other 
things  necessary,  105-106.  Water 
requirements,  106.  Risks  and 
drawbacks,  106.  Damage  caused 
in  the  dyeing-,  354.  Damages  to 

foods,     348.       Poor     cross-dyeing, 
55.     Dyed  weight  of  cotton  yarn, 
62.     What  experience  teaches,  106. 
Piece    dyers'    price    lists,    106-108. 
"Dry  Goods,"  Textile  Trade  Journal, 

92a. 
Eastwood  Co.,  Benjamin,  Machinery, 


Efficiency  standards  in  manufactur- 
ing, 411-418.  Wastefulness  of 
present  methods,  411.  Extraordi- 
nary results  of  scientific  methods, 
411-412.  Every  manufacturer 
should  investigate,  412.  Basic 
principles  of  scientific  efficiency, 
412.  Effect  upon  wage  rates,  220- 
221.  Underpaid  employees,  and 
unproductive  machinery,  214-215. 
Profit  sharing  a  help,  218.  Time 
and  patience  required,  413.  Begin- 
ning with  the  weaving,  413.  Ana- 
lyzing motions  and  causes  of  stop- 
pages, 413-414.  Increased  pay  a 
great  stimulant,  414.  Investigat- 
ing the  mechanical  equipment, 

414.  High    priced    labor    on    low 
priced  work,  414-415.      Furnishing 
tools    to    the    workers,    415.      How 
belting  matters  could  be  handled, 

415.  Standardizing   mill    supplies, 

415.  Individuality    of    the    loom, 
415-416.     Character,     widths,     and 
speeds    of    loojns,    416.       Evolving 
tables      for      maximum      weaving 
speeds,    416.      Usual    loom    output, 

416.  Details  of  loom  employment 
and      necessary      stoppages,      417. 
Determining    the    causes     of    lost 
production,    417.       Result    of    gen- 
eral application  of  principles,  417- 
418. 

Elasticity  of  raw-silk,   150. 
Electric     power     transmission,     109- 

124.     Danger   from    electric   shock, 

115.       Electrical    records,    118-119. 

Electrical   units,    119. 
Embossing  and  moirSing,  88. 
Emerson     Company,     Efficiency    En- 

gineers,  79a. 
Emerson,    Harrington,    his    work    in 

the    field    of    standardization    and 

efficiency,    411. 
Emmerich-Dolson   Co.,   Thrown   Silk, 

40a. 

Employment  contracts,  230-231. 
England,   wages  in,   223. 
English    customs    regarding    cotton 

yarn    counts,    63. 
Equipment   controlling   sales   policy, 

145-146. 
European     conditioning     house     cer- 

tificates,   145-146. 


European  silk,  classifications,  15. 
Terms  and  conditions  of  sale,  22. 
Raw-silk  rules,  138-143.  Used  in 
connection  with  cotton  warps,  329. 

European  practice  in  silk  throwing, 
144. 

Fabric  construction,  judicious  use 
of  material,  11-12. 

Fancy  goods,  expenses  should  be 
kept  separate,  282.  Business  often 
done  at  a  loss,  283.  Losses  en- 
tailed by  fancies,  296. 

Farbwerke,  Hoechst  Co.,  Colors  and 
Chemicals,  lOla. 

Ferguson  Co.,  John  W.,  Mill  Archi- 
tects, 77a. 

Figuring  the  throwing  waste,  51. 

Filling  tables  for  silk,  185-190. 

Financing,  capital  employed  in  mill 
operations,  382-383.  Capital  per 
loom  required,  394.  Why  the  com- 
mission house  has  come  into 
being,  245.  Serious  drawbacks  to 
the  system,  245.  Making  stock 
for  advances,  310-311.  Starting 
mushroom  concerns,  247-248.  In- 
ability of  weak  mills  to  stop,  387. 
Effect  on  credit  of  auction  sales, 
315.  Manufacturers  forced  into 
bankruptcy,  255.  Old  basis  of 
note  settlement,  244.  Discount 
facilities  of  English  and  Canadian 
banks,  244-245.  Advances  required 
by  mills,  262.  A  Continental 
method  of  finance,  261.  Mill 
creditors  who  are  protected,  262. 
Raw-silk  houses  might  finance 
mills,  262.  Raw-silk  bills  payable 
when  goods  are  sold,  263.  Pro- 
viding undercapitalized  mills  with 
funds,  398.  Financial  plan  for  a 
great  silk  coKporation,  399-401. 

Finding  foreign  markets  for  silk, 
320-325. 

Finishing,  should  a  mill  do  its  own? 
84-94.  Lack  of  knowledge  of  the 
processes,  84.  Advantages  of  out- 
side finishing,  84-85.  Objects 
aimed  at  in  the  finishing,  85.  Ma- 
chinery and  processes  employed, 
85-88.  Moirging  and  embossing, 
88.  Supplies  required,  88.  Analy- 
sis of  cost  of  supplies,  89.  Flpor 
space  and  power  needed,  89-90. 
Necessary  equipment  and  its  cost, 

90.  Kind    of   foreman   needed,    90. 
Overhead    charges,    91.      Damaged 
goods,    348-349,    354.      Advantages 
over    the    commission    finisher,    91. 
Other    benefits    in    mill    finishing, 

91.  Character     of     finish     and     its 
importance,  92.     Let  the  specialist 
do    the    finishing,    92.      Price    lists, 
92-94. 

Fire  hazard,  with  relation  to  the 
electric  drive,  123. 

Fire  insurance  on  Jacquard  cards 
and  designs,  376-377. 

Foreign  markets  for  silks,  finding, 
320-325.  Exports  of  cottons  to 
Asia,  320.  Necessity  of  wide  and 
accurate  information,  320-321. 
Markets  where  business  might  be 
done,  321.  Conditions  which  must 
be  inquired  into,  321-322.  Ameri- 
can manufacturers  neglect  impor- 
tant details,  322.  Special  require- 
ments of  trade,  322.  Packing  of 
goods  for  foreign  shipment,  322- 
323.  Collection  of  full  information 
a  formidable  task,  323.  Overpro- 
duction and  the  home  market.  323. 
Going  after  business  in  a  busi- 
nesslike way,  323.  Evils  of  in- 
termittent efforts,  324.  Our  abil- 


INDEX 


425 


ity   to   compete,   324.      Plain   goods 

the  most  promising:,  324-325.     The 

first   steps  to   take,    325. 
Foreign   sample   collections,    340-341. 
Forms      used     in     connection     with 

tests,   53-56. 
Fraudulent  representations  of  goods, 

32. 

France,    wages    in,    223-224. 
French  silks,  boil-off,  20. 
Frost    &    Son,     George    T.,     Bobbins, 

Banding:,   etc.,  85a. 
Gantt,   H.   L.,   his   work   in   the   field 

of    standardization   and    efficiency, 

Gassing,  makes  yarns  lighter,  62. 
Gear    transmission,    111-112. 
General   Electric   Co.,   Electrical   Ap- 
paratus, 123a. 

General  expense,  what  it  includes, 
162,  170,  180.  Apportioning  the 
cost,  164-165.  Proper  subdivision, 
199.  Allotment  for  plain  and 
fancy  goods,  210. 

Germany,   wages   in,    224. 

Gilbert  Co.,  William  A.,  Throwsters, 
46a. 

Gilbreth,  Frank  B.,  his  work  in  the 
field  of  standardization  and  effi- 
ciency, 411. 

Gradings   of  raw   silk.    13. 

Great  Silk  Corporation,  plans  for 
the  creation  of  a,  396-404.  Unit- 
ing a  large  silk  loomage,  396. 
Lack  of  interest  during  good 
times,  396.  Businesses,  successful 
and  unsuccessful,  396-397.  Ends 
to  be  attained,  397.  Broad  silk 
loomage  of  the  U.  S.,  397.  Rea- 
sons for  a  large  combination,  397. 
Difficult  to  make  profit  on  sta- 
ples, 398.  Temporary  prosperity 
often  due  to  chance,  398.  Having 
to  run  when  business  is  bad,  398. 
Providing  undercapitalized  mills 
with  funds,  398.  Concern  must  be 
organized  from  within,  399.  Cor- 
poration should  acquire  mills  out- 
right, 399.  Assets  which  must  be 
taken  over,  399.  What  owners 
will  require  in  exchange,  399. 
Shares  issued  against  liquid  as- 
sets, 399.  Shares  issued  against 
mill  properties,  399.  How  earning 
power  is  provided  for,  400.  Issue 
of  additional  common  stock,  400. 
Avoidance  of  bond  obligations, 
400.  Inventorying  the  mill  prop- 
erties, 400.  Retaining  the  person- 
nel of  the  mills,  400.  New  capi- 
tal to  be  provided  by  bankers, 
400-401.  Advantages  to  be  re- 
alized, 401.  Benefits  accruing  to 
the  manufacturers,  401.  Shares 
listed  on  the  Stock  Exchange,  402. 
Selecting  a  .head  for  the  enter- 
prise, 402.  Comprehensive  plans 
worked  out  by  the  writer,  402. 
Laws  regarding  combinations, 

402.  Taking    in    the    ribbon    de- 
partments,   402.      Causes   of   disas- 
ter   in    other    flotations,    403.      Ac- 
quiring additional  mills,  403.     Re- 
forms and  economies  to  be  effected, 

403.  Nothing   stable   in   the   pres- 
ent  situation,   403.      Benefit  to   the 
trade   of   such   a   corporation,   403- 
404. 

Hall  &  Co.,  I.  A.,  Reeds  and  Har- 
nesses, 83a. 

Harness  twines,  twists  and  counts, 
61-62. 

Hartley  Silk  Mfff.  Co.,  Silk  Mfrs., 
14a. 


Hartman,     F.     U,,     Inc.,     Throwsters, 

43a. 
Hofer    &    Co.,    H.    F.,    Thrown     Silk, 

H7a. 
Holbrook     Mfgr.     Co.,    Textile    Soaps, 

129a. 
Home    Bleach    &    Dye    Works,    Inc., 

Cotton    Yarn    Dyers,    55a. 
Hours     of     operation     permitted     by 
State  laws,  5.     For  throwing  mills, 
71-72. 
Hygroscopic     character     of     textile 

fibres,   125-126. 

Humidification  in  textile  mills,  125- 
133.  Percentage  of  theoretical 
output  obtainable,  125.  Hygro- 
scopic character  of  textile  fibres, 
125-126.  Standard  "regains"  of 
textile  fibres,  126.  Curves  show- 
ing regains  for  cotton,  wool,  and 
silk,  98a.  Regain  table  for  cotton 
yarn,  lOOa.  Regain  table  for 
worsted  yarn,  102a.  Tests  with 
worsted  yarn  at  Arlington  Mills, 
126-127.  Tarn  elasticity  depend- 
ent on  moisture,  127.  Advantage 
of  damp  localities  for  textile 
manufacturing,  127.  Effect  of  hu- 
midity on  mill  operations,  128. 
How  production  and  costs  are  af- 
fected, 128.  Difficulties  during 
damp  and  dry  weather,  128-129. 
Humidifyers  and  their  attributes, 
129.  Apparatus  required,  129. 
Amount  of  water  vaporized  and 
power  required,  129-130.  Use  of 
steam,  and  other  methods  of  air 
moistening,  130.  Value  of  hu- 
midification  immediately  apparent, 
130-131.  Reduction  of  wastage, 
131.  Storage  of  con  yarn,  65.  Hy- 
grometers and  humidity,  131-132. 
Diagram  of  saturation.  132.  Main- 
taining the  proper  humidity,  132- 
133.  Other  advantages,  133. 
Imperfections  in  manufactured 
goods,  345-356.  Criticisms  made 
in  ignorance,  345.  Salesmen's 
complaints,  275.  Absolutely  per- 
fect goods  an  impossibility,  345. 
Claims,  unjust  and  just,  345-346. 
Remarkable  perfection  attained, 
346.  The  manufacturer's  load  of 
care,  347.  How  damages  might 
be  classified,  347.  Every  thread 
has  its  allotted  place,  347.  Trou- 
ble arising  from  the  raw  mate- 
rial, 347-348.  How  the  throwster 
can  make  damage,  348.  Bad  work 
by  skein  dyer  and  piece  dyer,  348. 
Damages  the  printer  is  respon- 
sible for,  348.  How  the  finisher 
makes  trouble,  348-349.  Defects 
in  the  warp  and  their  causes,  349- 

350.  "Rusty"    silk,     350.       Filling 
damages,     and     how     they     occur, 
350-351.          "Cockling"        and       its 
oa.uses,    351.       "Lousiness"    in    silk, 

351.  Difficulties  with   chameleons, 

351.  Other  troubles  in  the  filling, 

352.  Soiling  of  Broods,   352.     Clean 
goods,    and    what    it    entails,    352. 
Perspiration  stains  and  other  soil- 
ing,   352-353.       Trouble    with    sel- 
vages,     353.        Faulty      designing, 

353.  System     at     the     mill,     353. 
T>amaeres  to  the  woven  goods.  353. 
Finishing    and    printing    troubles, 

354.  Additional   defects.   354.     The 
dver's    responsibility.    354.      Weav- 
ing   of    imperfect    goods    must    be 
halted.  354-355.     Retirements  for 
a    cloth    examiner,    355.      Troubles 
of  various  kinds,  355.     Heavy  and 


426 


INDEX 


light  pieces,  355-356.  All  mills 
make  some  imperfect  goods,  356. 

Increase  in  output  by  humidifica- 
tion,  133. 

Inducements  offered  to  mills  to  lo- 
cate, 6. 

Interest,  figuring1  for  cost  sheets, 
163.  Account  must  be  studied, 
193.  Commission-house  profit,  251. 
392.  Charges  for  carrying  raw 
silk,  389-390. 

Irregularity  of  Japanese  silks,  25. 

Italian  silks,   boil-off,   20,   48,   146. 

Italy,   wages  in,   223. 

Jacquard  cards  and  designs,  fire  in- 
surance, 376-377. 

Jacquard  work,   its   heavy  cost,   282. 

Japanese  weights  and  measures, 
48a. 

Japan,   wages  in,   223. 

Japanese  raw  silk,  characteristics 
of,  19-29.  Good  features  of,  19. 
Where  deficient,  20.  Percentage 
of  boil-off,  20-21,  48,  146.  Silks 
for  single  weaving,  21.  Use  with 
cotton  warps,  329.  Color,  strength, 
elasticity,  brilliancy,  21-22.  How 
packed,  22.  Terms  and  conditions 
of  sale,  22-23.  Raw-silk  rules, 
138-143.  Loss  in  conditioning,  22- 
23.  Speculative  attitude  of  reel- 
ers,  23-24.  Price  fluctuations  hurt 
manufacturers,  24.  Irregularity 
of  size,  25.  Classifications,  15.  Un- 
satisfactory classifications,  25,  26. 
Relative  cost  of  rereels,  26.  Ta- 
ble of  rereels,  26-27.  Inaccurate 
crop  information,  28.  Unreliabil- 
ity of  chops,  28.  Private  chops, 
28-29.  Manufacturers  suffer  when 
silk  is  wrong,  29.  No  assurance 
of  quality,  29. 

Jealousy  between  mills,  229. 

Kayser  &  Co.,  Julius,  Silk  Knit 
Goods  Mfrs.,  15a. 

Kearns  &  Carroll  Silk  Dyeing  Co., 
Skein  Dyers,  54a. 

Klipstein  &  Co.,  A.,  Colors  and 
Chemicals,  103a. 

Klots  Throwing  Co.,  Throwsters, 
47a. 

Knapp,  Charles  H.,  Machinery,  HOa. 

"Knit  Goods,"  Textile  Trade  Jour- 
nal, 93a. 

Labor,  wage  rates  a  local  condi- 
tion, 220-221.  Variation  of  wages 
a.nd  hours  of  worjp,  221.  Differ- 
ences in  labor  cost,  324.  Wages 
in  silk  trade  in  U.  S.  and  Eu- 
rope, 222-224.  Throwing  wages 
in  Scranton  and  Paterson,  221- 
222.  Earnings  in  the  Anthracite 
Regions,  239-240.  Standard  wage 
scales,  225.  Paterson  price  list, 
225-227.  Labor  cost  on  fancy 
goods,  207.  Labor  cost  with  re- 
lation to  equipment,  205-206. 
High-priced  labor  and  low-priced 
work,  414-415.  Rewards  for  faith- 
ful service,  236.  Method  of  re- 
warding fidelity,  236-237.  Increas- 
ing efficiency  and  lessening  fa- 
tigue, 412.  Most  efficient  work  no 
harder  than  the  least,  413.  Prob- 
lem of  securing  help,  220.  Train- 
ing country  help,  227.  Securing 
country  help,  227-228.  Weeding- 
out  process,  219.  Causes  for  dis- 
missal, 220.  Shifting  of  help,  219- 
220.  Losing  good  help  a  serious 
matter,  211.  Tact  needed  in 
handling  help.  212-213.  Improper 
treatment,  213.  Tramp  weavers, 
22.  Care  in  engaging  applicants, 
228-229.  Record  of  names  and  ad- 


dresses, 229-230.  Difficulty  with 
r.ames,  230.  Employment  con- 
tracts, 230-231.  Understandings 
between  manufacturers,  228.  In- 
formation about  bad  characters, 
233.  Blacklisting,  233.  A  set  of 
mill  rules,  231-233.  Throwing- 
mill  labor,  69-70.  Printing-depart- 
ment help,  80-81.  Subdividing  the 
outlays,  205.  With  reference  ta 
mill  location,  2-4.  State  laws,  4, 
235-236.  Effect  of  steam  humidi- 
fying on  health  of  operatives,  130. 
Suspicious  attitude  of  employees, 
238-239.  Money  saved  to  help  by 
household-work  training,  239. 
Cooking  and  dressmaking  classes, 
239.  Prizes  for  suggestions,  240- 
242.  Unions,  strikes.  "Recogni- 
tion of  the  Union,"  215.  Habit  of 
calling  strike,  215.  Violence  at- 
tendant upon  strikes,  216.  Means 
of  defense,  216-217.  Protecting 
the  workers,  217. 

Land,  investment  in,  381.  Increas- 
ing land  values,  374.  Land,  build- 
ings and  power  plant  required  for 
a  dye  works,  99.  For  a  throwing 
mill,  70-71.  How  land  values  af- 
fect costs,  6. 

Laws  relating  to  combinations,  402. 
Regarding  factory  operatives,  235- 
236.  Respecting  corporations,  5. 

Leather  Belting  Price  List,   118a. 

Lengths  per  pound  of  silk  dram- 
ages,  82a. 

Levantine   silks,   boil-off, 

Liens  protecting  certain  creditors, 
262. 

Lighting,  dyehouse  requirements, 
103-104.  Voltages  of  electric  cur- 
rent, 151. 

Linen,   tow  and  jute   "regains,"    126. 

Location  for  a  mill,  selecting  a,  1- 
10.  Location  for  a  throwing-mill, 
69.  For  a  dyehouse,  98. 

Loom  builders,  extended  credit,  248- 
249. 

Losses  from  overstocked  market, 
387.  Incurred  by  carrying  stock, 
314.  Entailed  by  fancy  goods, 
296.  In  closing  out  stock,  293, 
308.  Booking  orders  at  a  loss, 
387-388.  Skepticism  of  interested 
employees  when  losses  have  been 
made,  366.  Entailed  on  manu- 
facturers by  credit  office,  251-252. 
Caused  by  ignorance  of  boil-offs, 

Loth  &  Co.,  Joseph,  Ribbon  Mfrs., 
12a. 

"Lousiness"  in  silk,  351.  Accent- 
uated by  severe  degumming,  21, 

Lyons  Conditioning  House  Reports, 
20-48. 

Machinery,  for  throwinsr-mills,  71- 
72.  Different  types,  72.  For  silk 
printing,  77.  For  silk  finishing, 
85-88.  Special  dyeing  machinery, 
104.  Depreciation  of  plant,  162- 
163,  373.  Keeping  machinery  at 
highest  efficiency,  370.  Deprecia- 
tion affected  by  speeds,  371. 
Speeds  of  cuts  for  machine  tools, 
126a.  Breaking  up  old  machin- 
ery, 371-372.  Differences  in  wear 
and  tear,  372.  Life  of  machinery, 
372-373.  When  it  should  be  dis- 
carded, 375.  What  inventory 
should  include,  376.  English  fig- 
ures as  to  depreciation,  377-378. 
Extended  credit  given  by  machin- 
ery builders.  389.  Abolishing  de- 
ferred payments,  392. 


INDEX 


427 


Making  goods  for  stock,  the  ques- 
tion of,  306-312. 

Manchester  yarn  contract  rules, 
116a. 

Manufacturing  policies  governing 
raw-silk  purchases,  16-19. 

Materials,  judicious  use  of,  11-12. 
Considerations  affecting  their  use, 
11-12.  Amount  of  materials  or- 
dinarily in  process  at  a  mill,  382. 

Mercantile    Warehouse    Co.,    Storage,   * 
75a. 

Mercerizing,  effect  upon  count  of 
yarn,  62. 

Merchandising  methods,  changes  in, 
284-290.  Present  position  of  the 
jobber,  284.  Selling  to  retailers, 
and  drawbacks,  284-285.  Disin- 
clination of  jobbers  to  carry 
stock,  285-286.  The  cutter-up  and 
his  methods,  286.  Losses  attend- 
ant upon  business  with  cutters, 
286-287.  The  retailer's  ideas  of 
profits,  287.  Poorer  goods  at 
higher  prices,  287.  Restrictions 
placed  upon  retail  buyers,  287- 
288.  Retailers  need  more  varied 
stocks,  288.  The  mercandise 
man,  288.  How  manufacturers  are 
expected  to  carry  stock,  288. 
Risks  and  expenses  unloaded 
upon  the  mills,  288-289.  Neces- 
sary profits  are  not  got,  289.  Cur- 
tailment of  mill  credits,  289.  Fu- 
ture outlook  and  present  condi- 
tions, 289-290.  The  causes  of  in- 
action, 290.  Necessity  of  leader- 
ship, 290. 

Metric  standards,  refusal  of  silk 
trade  to  use  them,  405. 

Mills  and  their  commission-houses, 
relations  between,  243-265. 

Mills  and  their  salesmen,  relations 
between,  266-280. 

Mill  help,  questions  relating  to,  219- 
234.  Effect  on  the  operations  of 
continuity  of  work,  219.  Causes 
for  shifting  of  help,  219-220. 
Tramp  weavers,  220.  Causes  for 
dismissal,  220.  The  problem  of 
securing  help,  220.  Rates  of 
wages  a  local  condition,  220-221. 
Wages  and  hours  in  different  lo- 
calities, 221.  The  silk-throwing 
strike  of  1907.  221.  Throwing 
wages  in  Scranton  and  Paterson, 
221-222.  Rates  fixed  by  the  arbi- 
trator. 222.  Wages  in  the  silk 
trade  in  the  U.  S.  and  in  Europe, 
222-224.  Standard  wage  scales, 
225.  Paterson  broad  silk  price 
list,  225-227.  Training  country 
help,  227.  Trouble  of  securing 
help  in  the  country,  227-228.  How 
one  concern  met  the  difficulty, 
228.  Understanding  between 

manufacturers  regarding  help, 
228.  Care  in  engaging  applicants 
for  work,  228-229.  Records  which 
should  be  kept,  229-230.  Difficulty 
with  workers'  names,  230.  Sign- 
ing of  employment  contracts,  230. 
A  form  of  contract  that  has 
worked  well,  230-231.  Represen- 
tative mill  rules,  231-233.  Local 
associations  of  manufacturers, 
233.  Blacklisting,  233.  Advan- 
tage of  concerted  action,  233. 
Friendly  co-operation  in  certain 
directions.  233-234. 

Mill  location,  selecting  a,  1-10. 
Points  to  be  considered,  1.  Ideal 
conditions.  2.  Importance  of  la- 
bor question,  2-4.  State  labor 
laws.  4.  Hours  of  operation,  5. 


Corporation  laws,  5.  Child  labor, 
5.  Local  inducements  offered,  6. 
Land  values,  6.  Other  questions, 
6-7.  Building  costs,  7.  Distance 
from  market,  7.  Transportation 
expenses,  8.  Local  conditions,  8. 
Cost  of  power,  9-10.  Water  sup- 
ply, 10.  Summary,  10. 

Mills  and  their  operatives,  relations 
between,  211-218.  Difficulty  of 
creating  a  mill  organization,  211. 
Loss  of  good  help  a  serious  mat- 
ter, 211-212.  Tact  needed  in 
handling  help,  212-213.  Arbitrary 
employers  like  beggars  on  horse- 
back, 213.  Impossibility  of  per- 
sonal acquaintance,  213.  Welfare 
work,  235-242.  Latent  suspicion 
of  operatives,  213-214.  Wages  and 
conditions  of  living,  214.  Under- 
paid employees  unprofitable,  214- 
215.  Strikes  and  their  causes, 
215.  "Recognition  of  the  Union," 
215.  Strike  violence  and  the  fear 
of  it,  216.  When  popular  govern- 
ment breaks  'down  and  freedom 
ceases,  216.  Necessity  for  means 
of  defense,  216-217.  Protecting 
the  workers,  217.  Right  of  the 
individual  to  defend  himself  and 
his  dependents,  217.  Employment 
of  minors,  217-218.  Profit-sharing 
an  aid  to  efficiency,  218. 

Mills  and  their  operatives,  criticism 
from  the  selling  end,  218. 

Mitsui  &   Co.,  Raw  Silk,  21  a. 

Moireing  and  embossing,  88. 

Moires,   cotton  yarns   for,   60. 

Moisture,  effect  upon  silk,   150. 

Morimura,  Aral  &  Co.,  Raw  Silk, 
19a. 

Names   of  workpeople,   229-230. 

National  Silk  Dyeing:  Co.,  Dyers  and 
Printers,  57a. 

New  York  Watering  Co.,  Printing, 
Embossing,  etc.,  63a. 

Oberly  &  Newell,  Sample  Cards,  89a. 

Organzine,  spinning  necessary,  68- 
69.  Throwing  prices,  75. 

Oriental  Silk  Printing  Co.,  Silk 
Printers,  65a. 

Ounce  method  of  ordering  weight- 
ings, 40-41,  43-44.  Table  of  va- 
riations, 45.  How  the  dyer  may 
be  mulcted,  46-47.  Examples 
shewing  variable  costs,  49-51. 

Overweighting,  due  to  unknown, 
but  large,  boil-off,  53. 

Pacific  Bank,  of  New  York,  16a. 

Pelgram   &   Meyer,    Silk   Mfrs.,   7a. 

Percentages  and  costs  of  weight- 
ings, 40-56. 

Percentage  basis  for  dyeing 
charges,  44. 

Perspiration,  effect  upon  tin- 
weighted  silk,  352. 

Phoenix    Silk    Mfg.    Co.,    Silk    Mfrs., 

Piece  dye  silks,  weighting  of,  38- 
39.  Dyeing  equipment  needed, 
105.  Price  lists,  106-108.  Relative 
costs  of  piece  and  yarn  dyes, 
312.  Questions  regarding  same, 
338.  Some  considerations  affecting 
piece  dyes,  295.  Damages  to 
goods,  348.  358-359. 

Piedmont  silks,  boil-off,  20. 

Plan  for  the  creation  of  a  Great 
Silk  Corporation,  396-404. 

Plant,  what  to  figure  for  deprecia- 
tion of.  370-378. 

P.  M.   system  and  its  value,  275. 

Policies   of  production.   294-295. 

Power  transmission  'in  textile  mills, 
109-124.  Electric  transmission, 


428 


INDEX 


109.  Methods       of       generating 
power,    109-110.      Advantages    and 
disadvantages      of    electric    drive, 

110.  Rope-driving,  111.     Compari- 
son  of   rope   and   belt   drives,    111. 
Gear   transmission,    111-112.      Cost 
of     power,     112.       Advantages     of 
forced  draught,   112-113.      Tests   of 
coal,      113.        Questions      affecting 
electrical      installations,      113-114. 
Alternating     or     direct     currents, 

114.  Printing-machine     require- 
ments,    114.       Kinds     of    currents, 
114-115.     Voltage  for  lighting,  115. 
Danger      from      electrical      shock, 

115.  Speeds  of  generators  and  mo- 
tors, 115-116.     Direct-connected  or 
belted  generators,   116.      Speeds   of 
prime     movers,      116-117.      Turbo- 
generators,  116.      Boiler  pressures, 
117.       Subdivision    of    power,     117. 
Flexibility   of  electric   power,    119. 
Advantages  and  drawbacks  of  dif- 
ferent   drives,    117-118.      Value    of 
electrical    records,    118-119.     Elec- 
trical  units,   119.      Outside   current 
and    its    cost,    119-120.      Points    of 
vital  moment,  120.     Cost  of  instal- 
lation,    120.       Power-plant    depre- 
ciation,   373.      Power-cost    consid- 
erations,     9-10.       Consumption     of 
power,     120-121.       Power     lost     in 
transmission,        120-121.          Power 
needed      for      loom      motors,      121. 
Power   for    throwing   mills,    70-71. 
Power  consumed  in   silk  spinning, 
72.      Power    needed    for    finishing- 
plant,  89-90.     Power  and  steam  re- 
quired for   dyeing,   9.9-100.      Print- 
ing   requirements,     114.       Amount 
taken      by      humidifiers,      129-130. 
Improvements   in   motors,    121-122. 
Irregular  speeds,   122.     Regulation 
of    speed,     122-123.       Possible     in- 
creases in  production,  123.     Clean- 
liness   of    mill,     and    fire    hazard, 
123.     Dealing  with  high-class  con- 
cerns, 124. 

Preseott  &  Waywell,  Warping  and 
Winding,  71a. 

Price  fluctuations  of  raw-silk  hurt 
manufacturers,  24. 

Price  regulation,  fixed  retail  prices, 
302-303.  Prices  based  on  raw  ma- 
terial costs,  305. 

Prices  to  use  in  stock-taking,  ques- 
tion of,  363-369. 

Printing-,  should  a  mill  do  its  own 
silk?  76-83.  Delay  in  deliveries, 
76.  Damages  to  be  allowed  for, 
76-77.  Damages  to  goods,  348, 
354.  Equipment  required,  77.  Cost 
of  equipment,  78.  Storage  of  roll- 
ers and  chemicals,  78.  Water, 
sewerage  and  steam  supply,  78. 
Power  requirements,  114.  Nature 
of  the  operations,  78-80.  Resist 
printing,  79.  Extract  printing,  79. 
Direct  printing,  79-80.  The  steam- 
ing process,  80.  Employees  re- 
quired, 80-81.  Block  printing  fa- 
cilities, 81.  Copper  rollers  and 
their  cost,  81-82.  Capital  re- 
quired. 82.  Risks  of  the  business. 
82.  Difficulties  with  samples  and 
deliveries.  343.  Printers'  price 
lists,  82-83.  Prices  for  surface 
and  warp  printing,  83.  Prices  for 
waterproofing,  83. 

Private  chops  of  raw  silk,   14,   28-29. 

Production  and  costs  as  affected  by 
humidity,  128.  Specialization  in 
production,  291-299.  Stoppage  of 
production  disastrous,  311-312. 
Directing  the  production  of  a  tex- 


tile mill,  334-344.  Figuring  the 
annual  production,  381. 

Profits,  no  extra  profit  on  weighted 
silks,  36.  Profit  looked  for  by  re- 
tailers, 37,  287.  Restricting  the 
distributer's  profit,  39.  Prospec- 
tive profits  in  throwing,  73-75. 
Profits  from  individual  loom  drive, 
123.  Calculated  profit  on  goods, 
195,  200.  Profits  and  losses  on 
sales,  197.  Profits,  losses  and  ex- 
penses shown,  201-202.  Separately 
shown,  202.  Profit-sharing  an  aid 
to  efficiency,  218.  All  should  be 
interested  in  mill  profits,  265. 
Primary  object  of  sales,  267.  Nec- 
essary profits  are  not  got,  289. 
Salesmen  and  profit-making,  271- 
272.  Profit-making  and  volume  of 
sales,  336-337.  Salaries  not  based 
upon  profits  made,  270.  Inducing 
salesmen  to  work  for  profits,  274. 
Large  profits  necessary  on  fan- 
cies, 283.  Profits  on  advertised 
fabrics,  301.  Bare  shelves  mean 
larger  profits,  308-309.  Profits  on 
foreign  business,  321.  Clean 
stocks  and  profit-making,  319. 
Clever  men  always  find  a  profit, 
332.  No  chance  of  profit  for  small 
mills  on  competitive  goods,  337. 
Jobbing  risks,  but  mill  profits  on 
a  brokerage  basis,  339.  Defraud- 
ing subordinates  of  profits,  366. 
Hard  to  make  profit  on  staples, 
398.  Profits  from  a  combination 
of  mills,  397. 

Pulleys,  rules  for  size  and  speed, 
122a. 

Purchasing  raw  silks  for  a  mill, 
11-18. 

Pure  dye  silks,  retailer  a  barrier  to 
their  sale,  38. 

Questions  relating  to  mill  help,  219- 
234. 

Question  of  making  goods  for 
stock,  306-312. 

Question  of  prices  to  use  in  stock- 
taking, 363-369. 

Raw  cotton,  classifications,  63-65. 
Length  and  diameter  of  staple,  66. 

Raw  material,  standardized  prices, 
194.  Using  fixed  constants,  195. 
Manner  of  recording  purchases, 
199.  Adjustment  accounts,  200- 
201.  Poor  qualities  increase  labor 
costs,  201.  Clearances  of  weights, 
201. 

Raw-silks,  purchasing  for  a  mill, 
11-18.  Judgment  in  selecting 
suitable  silks,  11-12.  Methods  of 
manufacture,  12.  Buying  ahead, 
12-13.  Carrying  of  silk  and  for- 
ward selling,  389-390.  How  grad- 
ed, 13.  Characteristics  of  Japan- 
ese raw-silks.  19-29.  Good  feat- 
ures, 19.  Deficiencies,  20.  Jap- 
anese raw-silks  for  single  weav- 
ing, 21.  Color,  strength,  elastic- 
ity and  brilliancy,  21-22.  How 
packed,  22.  Meaning  of  chops,  13. 
Private  chops,  14,  28-29.  Reliabil- 
ity of  qualities.  13-14.  Silks  not 
up  to  specification,  15,  29.  Unre- 
liability of  Japanese  chops,  28. 
Unsatisfactory  classifications,  25- 
26.  No  real  assurance  of  quality, 
29.  Inaccurate  Japanese  crop  in- 
formation, 28.  Defects  causing 
imperfections  in  goods.  347,  349- 
350.  Drawbacks  to  certain  silks, 
18.  Raw-silk  classifications,  15. 
The  denier  system,  405-410.  Gain 
in  weight  from  atmospheric  mois- 
ture, 48.  Regain  of  moisture, 


INDEX 


429 


126.  Boil-offs  of  different  silks, 
20,  48.  Sizing  tests,  145.  Irregu- 
larity in  size  of  Japanese  silks,  25. 
The  combination  sizing  test,  52- 
53.  Figuring  the  thrown  silk, 
177-178.  Scientific  and  unscien- 
tific tests,  52.  Necessity  for  sys- 
tematic tests,  43.  Terms  and  con- 
ditions of  sale,  22-23.  Deal  with 
best  houses,  14-15.  Manufactur- 
ing policies,  15-16.  Cheap  silk  . 
and  low  production,  16.  Good  silk 
and  high  production,  16-17.  The 
policy  of  opportunism,  17-18.  Con- 
ditioned weight,  and  other  bases 
for  sale,  22-23.  Rules  and  regu- 
lations for  transactions,  23,  138- 
143.  Prices  to  use  on  cost  sheets, 
159,  161.  Averaging  prices,  194. 
Relative  prices  of  Japan  filatures 
and  rereels,  26.  Japan  rereel  ta- 
ble, 26-27.  How  price  fluctuations 
hurt  manufacturers,  24,  160.  Basic 
cost  prices  for  stock-taking,  366. 
Valuing  the  raw-silk  stock,  366- 
367.  Sound  propositions  regard- 
ing pricing,  368.  Manner  of  re- 
cording outlays,  199.  Adherence 
to  policy  in  buying,  18.  Undue 
credit  extended  by  raw-silk  deal- 
ers, 249,  388,  389.  Raw-silk  cred- 
itors of  failed  firms  out  in  the 
cold,  262.  Raw-silk  houses  might 
finance  mills,  262.  Raising  the 
necessary  funds,  262.  Manufactur- 
ers could  buy  advantageously, 
263.  Restriction  of  speculation, 
263.  Time  for  maturity  of  bills, 
263.  Joint  interests  of  raw-silk 
dealer  and  manufacturer,  264. 
Curtailing  raw-silk  credits,  390- 
391.  Sellers  should  favor  self- 
financed  mills,  391-392.  Assistance 
fiven  toward  credit  restriction, 
95 
Read  &  Lovatt  Mfg.  Co.,  Throwsters, 

35*. 

"Recognition  of  the  Union,"   215. 
Refusing    to    overweight    goods,    37- 

38. 

"Regain"    of    moisture   i-n   textile   fi- 
bres,   126. 

Regarding   auction    sales,    313-319. 
Regarding   the    cost    of    sample    col- 
lections,  281-283. 
Relations    between    mills    and    their 

commission-houses,    243-265. 
Relations    between    mills    and    their 

operatives,    211-218. 
Relations    between    mills    and    their 

salesmen,   266-280. 
Relative      employment     of     spindles 

and   looms,    67. 

Relative  weights  of  fibre  and  adul- 
terant,   41. 

Rereels   and    their   relative   cost,    26. 
Retailers'       misleading       advertise- 
ments,      36-37.         Increasing      ex- 
penses,   36-37.      Margin    of    profit, 
37,    287.       Retailer    barrier    to    the 
sale   of   honest  merchandise,    38. 
Returns,    claims    and    cancellations, 

357-362. 
Reverse   twists   in   cotton   yarns   for 

moires,   60. 

Ribbons,     the     costing     of,     152-154, 

172.      Manufacturers'    cost    sheets, 

154-155.       Cost     calculations,     173, 

174.     Analysis   of  same,  172. 

Rice,    Barton    &    Pales    Machine    anil 

Iron    Co.,    Machinery,    127a. 
Rogers  &  Thompson,  Inc.,  Silk  Mfrs., 

11  a. 

Rope-driving,   111. 
Hoyie    <fc    Sons,    John.    Mach'y,    113a. 


Rubber       goods,       adulteration       of, 

30-31. 
Rule      for      figuring      the      throwing 

waste,   149. 

"Rusty"    silk,    causes    of    the    dam- 
age,   350. 

Salaries   of   partners,    164. 
Salesmen,     relation     between     mills 
and    their,    266-280.      Good    under- 
standing   should    exist,    266.       Re- 
quisites   of   salesmanship,    266-267. 
Houses  should  back  up  their  men, 
267.       Sales     manager's     qualifica- 
tion,  335-336.     Some  seem  to  have 
special     intuition,      334.        Limita- 
tions of  others,  265.     What  train- 
ing  does   the   sales  'manager   get? 
267-268,   336.     Volume   of  sales   his 
aim,       336-337.         Profit       making 
should  be  the  primary  object,  267. 
A    common    type,    337.      Delusions 
of  salesmen,  292-293.     Criticism  of 
the  mills,  218.     Impossible  perfec- 
tion expected,  359.     Salesmen  pick 
best    pieces    for    their    customers, 
355-356.     "Bread  and  butter  stuff," 
289.     Justifiable  discontent  of  em- 
ployers, 268-269.    Where  employers 
are  at  fault,   269.      Salesmen  com- 
pelled   to    consider    their    own    in- 
terests,  269-270.      European   meth- 
ods   are    different,     270.       Salaries 
predicated     on     sales     instead     of 
profits,   270.      A  French    method   of 
compensation,      270.        Good      men 
often    underrated,    271.       Commis- 
sion basis  and  its  difficulties,   271. 
Records    of   value,    197-198.      Hard 
to    get    men    to    work    for    profits, 
271-272.      Posting   mills    as   to    re- 
quirements,       279-280.          Keeping 
stock  out  of  sight,  309.     Salesmen 
want    stock    carried,     308.       Basic 
stock    considered    necessary,     313. 
Stock  goods  held  in   small  esteem, 
272.     Dealing  with  stock  accumu- 
lations,   314.      Opposition    to    auc- 
tion   sales,    315-316.      Deciding    on 
a  selling  policy,  338.     Policy  must 
conform  to  equipment,  339.     Sales- 
men's    confidence      weakened      by 
buyers'   tactics,    272-273.      Mill   ex- 
perience   a   help,    273.      Difficulties 
due   to   distributers'   methods,    273. 
Low     cost     production     and     low 
priced      salesmen,      274.        Induce- 
ments   to    work    for    profits,    274. 
Value    of    the    P.    M.    system,    275. 
Complaints     based     on     ignorance, 
275.       Salesmen's    courage    should 
be  fortified,  275-276.     Methods  em- 
ployed   by   one   house,   276.      Value 
of     familiarizing     salesmen     with 
the    mills,    277.      Haphazard    sam- 
pling,    277-278.        Color     matching 
and  its  limitations,  278-279.     Mills 
kept   in   dark   as   to   requirements, 
279-280.       Undesirable     colors     in 
short     warps,     280.       Sampling    in 
unprofitable    directions,    280.     Re- 
sponsibility for  cancellations,   360. 
•  Managers    anxious    to    make    good 
showing,     365.       Interests    of    mill 
and     sales     office     should     be     the 
same,     275.      Base    salesmen's    re- 
ward on  profits,  280.     Sell  and  re- 
pent,   298-299.      Different    methods 
cf      handling      accounts,      250-251. 
Agents  giving  up  general  depart- 
ments,  265. 

Sample  collections,  regarding  the 
cost  of,  281-283.  Qualifications  of 
the  man  in  charge,  281.  Getting  up 
samples,  341.  Foreign  sample  col- 
lections, 340-341.  Color  harmonies 


430 


INDEX 


and  discords,  341.  Color  harmony 
chart,  341-343.  Color  assortments 
should  be  limited,  341.  Difficulties 
with  printed  goods,  343.  Copying- 
competitors'  ideas,  343.  Sampling- 
far  ahead  for  novelties,  296. 
Heavy  expense  of  sample  collec- 
tions, 343.  Expenses  entailed  by 
fancy  goods,  281.  Yarns  for 
sampling  purposes,  282.  Heavy 
cost  of  Jacquard  work,  282. 
Losses  on  sample  pieces,  306. 
Other  outlays  to  be  met,  282. 
Keeping  fancy  goods  expenses 
separate,  282.  Much  business  on 
fancies  done  at  a  loss,  283.  Large 
initial  profits  necessary,  283. 

Saner,  Nicholas,  Reeds  and  Har- 
nesses, 84a. 

Saturation,    diagram    of,    132. 

Schieren  Co.,  Charles  A.,  Leather 
Belting,  119a. 

Schwarxenbach,  Huber  &  Co.,  Silk 
Mfrs.,  8a. 

Scranton  Silk  Machine  Co.,  Ma- 
chinery, 115a. 

Sea   Island   cotton,    65. 

"Seconds,"  losses  from,  162.  Cotton 
mill  allowances,  329. 

Secretiveness  of  manufacturers,  57- 
58. 

Security   Silk   Storage   Co.,   73a. 

Selecting  a  location  for  a  mill,  1-10. 

Selling  expense,  analyzing  the  cost, 
199.  ~  Interest  on  stock,  200. 
Losses  from  bad  debts,  200. 
Actual  expenditures,  201.  Nominal 
and  actual  commission,  264.  In- 
creased cost  of  merchandising, 
264-265.  Selling  cost  of  a  great 
silk  corporation,  103. 
;  Sewerage  difficulties  of  dyers,  103. 

Shafting,  horse  power  of  steel 
shafting1,  124a.  List  prices  and 
weights  of  same,  124a. 

Shoddy  and  woolens,  31. 

Should  a  mill  do  its  own  dyeing? 
95-108. 

Should  a  mill  do  its  own  finishing? 
84-94. 

Should  a  mill  do  its  own  silk  print- 
ing? 76-88. 

Should  a  mill  do  its  own  throw- 
ing? 67-75. 

Sick  benefit  society,  rules,  and  a 
workable  plan  of  management, 
237-239 

"Silk,"    Textile    Trade    Journal,    94a. 

Silk  Association  of  America,  raw- 
silk  rules  and  regulations,  23,  138- 
143.  Throwsters'  rules,  143-144. 
Suggested  action  regarding  for- 
eign markets,  325. 

Silk  Finishing  Co.  of  America,  Fin- 
ishers, 67a. 

Silk   goods,   adulteration  of,   30-39. 

Silk  lot  combination  test  record,  54- 
55. 

Silk  spinning,   power  needed,   72. 

Silk  throwing  machinery,  different 
types.  72. 

Simon,  R.  &  H.,  Silk  Mfrs.,  6a. 

Single  weaving,  silks  reeled  for,  21. 

Sizing,  combination  test  for  raw  and 
thrown  silk,  52-53.  The  denier- 
aune  system,  405-410.  The  valu- 
able compound  sizing  test,  410. 

Skein    dyers'    price    list,    96-98. 

Skein  dyeing,  operations  of,  100. 
Damages  to  goods  from  careless 
work.  348. 

Skinner  &  Sons,  William,  Silk  Mfrs., 
2a. 

Smith  &  Bros.  Typewriter  Co.,  I,. 
C.,  96a. 


Smith   &    Uhlig,    Inc.,    Finishers,    <»JJa. 

Soap,  dye  house  metnods  of  han- 
dling, 104. 

Soap  and  oil,  percentage  added  in 
throwing,  48.  Allowance  for  same 
when  calculating  costs,  179. 

Soap  and  water,  dyeing  charges 
lowered  by  their  free  use,  46-47. 

Spanish    silks,    boil-off,    20. 

Specialization  in  production,  291- 
299.  What  to  make,  291.  Neces- 
sity of  a  definite  policy,  291. 
Questions  which  will  influence  the 
decision,  291-292.  Frittering  away 
of  energies,  292.  Those  who  copy 
instead  of  originating,  292.  De- 
lusions of  salesmen,  292-293. 
When  to  stop  making  goods,  293. 
Specializing  along  narrow  lines, 
293-294.  Policies  of  production, 
294-295.  Considerations  affecting 
piece  dyes,  295.  The  production 
of  high  novelties,  295-296.  Losses 
entailed  by  fancy  goods,  296. 
Creating  a  demand  by  advertis- 
ing, 296-297.  Protecting  trade 
marks,  297.  Policy  to  be  pursued, 
297.  Shaping  a  course  and  fol- 
lowing it,  297-298.  Goods  should 
be  sold  the  season  made,  298. 
"Sell  and  Repent,"  298. 

Speculation  in  raw  silk,  invited  by 
carrying  facilities,  390. 

Speculative  attitude  of  Japanese 
Reelers,  23-24. 

Speeds   of  throwing  machinery,   72. 

Spinning  cotton  yarns,  accuracy  in, 
58-59,  62-63. 

Spinning  necessary  for  organzine, 
68-69. 

Spinning   of   silk,   power  needed,   72. 

Spun  silk,  or  schappe,  regain  of 
moisture,  126.  Raw-silk  rules, 
140.  Liable  to  contain  black 
hairs,  355. 

Standard  percentages  of  "regain" 
for  textile  fibres,  126. 

Standard  Silk  Dyeing  Co.,  Skein 
Dyers,  52a. 

State  legislation  for  factory  work, 
4,  235-236. 

Stehli    &    Co.,    Silk    Mfrs.,    5a. 

Sternberg    &    Co.,    Fred,    Yarns,    33a. 

Stock,  the  question  of  making  goods 
for,  306-312.  Advance  orders  and 
stock  goods,  338-339.  How  manu- 
facturers are  expected  to  carry 
stock,  288.  How  stock  goods  ac- 
cumulate, 306-307,  313.  Stock  in- 
creased when  it  should  be  re- 
duced, 388.  Inducements  to  make 
stock  goods,  307-308.  Salesmen 
insistent  upon  carrying  stock,  308. 
Same  goods  held  in  small  esteem, 
272.  Bare  shelves  mean  larger 
profits,  308-309.  Difficulty  of  get- 
ting full  price  for  goods  on  hand, 

309.  Losses  incurred  by  carrying 
stock,     314.      Losses     from     over- 
stocked   market,    387.       Stock    re- 
quired for  a  novelty  business,  309 
Carrying  a  quantity  of  advertised 
fabrics,      305.        Necessary     course 
when  handling  advertised  fabrics, 

310.  How     certain     staple     goods 
are      distributed,       310.         Making 
goods    for    commission    house    ad- 
vances,     310-311.         Stock      goods 
mean  commission  for  factors,  311. 
Commission     house     revaluations 
254.      Stoppage   of  production   dis- 
astrous,   311-312.      Costs    of    piece 
dyes  and  skein  dyes,   312.     Impor- 
tance    of     preventing     stock     ac- 
cumulations,    312.       Dealing    with 


INDEX 


stock  accumulations,  339.  Enlist- 
ing the  auctioneer's  services,  312. 

Stock  taking,  question  of  prices  to 
use  in,  363-369.  Objects  of  stock 
taking,  363.  Kinds  of  goods  to  be 
enumerated,  363-364.  Apportion- 
ing the  costs,  364.  Writing-off, 
202.  How  personal  interest  may 
affect  matters,  364-365.  Value  of 
a  settled  policy,  365-366.  Defraud- 
ing subordinates  of  their  profits, 
366.  Skepticism  when  losses  have 
been  made,  366.  Basic  costs  for 
different  silks,  366.  Methods  of 
valuing  the  raw  silk,  366-367. 
Difficulty  of  recommending  a 
course,  367-368.  General  proposi- 
tions that  are  sound,  368.  Fluctu- 
ating stock  values  confuse  mat- 
ters, 368-369.  How  shall  goods  be 
priced?  369.  Decide  on  a  policy 
and  adhere  to  it,  369.  Stock  value 
always  ascertainable,  201. 

-Strikes,  and  their  causes,  215. 
Losses  caused  by  broken  up  or- 
ganization, 211-212.  "Recognition 
of  the  Union,"  215.  Violence  at- 
tendant upon  strikes,  216.  Where 
popular  government  breaks  down, 
216.  Mill  defenses,  216-217.  Pro- 
tecting the  workers,  217.  The 
silk  throwing  strike  of  1907,  221. 
Concerted  action  by  manufac- 
turers, 233.  Preventing  sick- 
benefit  funds  from  being  im- 
properly diverted,  237. 

•Supplies  used  in  taffeta  finishing, 
89. 

Sussex  Print  "Works,  Pee.  Dyeing, 
Ptg.,  and  Finishing,  62a. 

Suter,  Alfred,  Machinery  and  Test- 
ing Apparatus,  72a. 

Switzerland,   wages   in,    223. 

Syrian   silks,   boil-off. 

Table   of   Japan    rereels,    26-27. 

Tables  of  weights,  and  cost  sheets, 
175-190. 

Tables  of  weights,  and  their  uses, 
177. 

Tables  of  weights  of  silk  warp,  182- 
184. 

Tables  of  weights  of  silk  filling, 
185-190. 

Taffeta  finishing,  supplies  required, 
89. 

Take-ups,  figures  to  use  in  costing, 
169.  Take-up  in  twist,  156-157.  In 
weaving,  158,  177. 

Tata  Sons  &  Co.,  Raw-Silk,  23a. 

Taylor,  Frederick  W.,  his  work  in 
the  field  of  standardization  and 
efficiency,  411. 

Tenacity  of  raw-silk,  151. 

Testing,  or  conditioning,  of  silk  and 
other  fibres,  134-151. 

Testing  house,   52. 

Testing  the  counts   of  yarns,    60-61. 

Tests,   scientific  and  unscientific,  52. 

Textile  Finishing  Machinery  Co., 
Ilia. 

"Textile  "World  Record,"  Textile 
Trade  Journal,  95a. 

"The  Value  of  Conditioning,"  49,  52. 

Thrown  silk,  tables  of  proportionate 
values  at  different  boil-offs,  86a, 
88a. 

Thrown  silk  sizing  tables,  2  thread, 
53a,  56a. 

Thrown  silk  sizing  tables,  3  thread, 
58a,  62a,  64a,  66a. 

Thrown  silk  sizing  tables,  4  thread, 
68a,  70a,  74a. 

Thrown  silk  sizing  table,  5  thread, 
78a. 

Throwing,     should     a     mill     do     its 


own?  67-75.  Advantages  hoped 
for,  67.  Respective  employment  of 
spindles  and  looms,  67-68.  Opera- 
tions of  throwing,  68.  Spinning 
necessary  for  organzine,  68-69. 
Take-up  in  twist,  156,  157.  Waste 
made,  146-147,  179.  How  to  figure 
throwing  waste,  51,  148-149. 
Manufacturers'  views  regarding 
waste,  147.  Inconsistent  demands, 
147-148.  Weight  added  in  soak- 
ing bath,  148.  Percentage  of  soap 
and  oil  used,  46,48.  Insoluble 
substances  added  in  soaking,  148- 
149.  Mineral  oil  makes  trouble 
for  dyer,  353.  Throwing  mill  lo- 
cation, 69.  Labor  considerations 
69-70.  The  throwing  strike  of 
1907,  221.  Wages  in  Scranton  and 
Paterson,  221-222.  Prices  charged 
for  the  work,  75.  Same  prices  for 
different  quality  silks,  18.  Il- 
logical basis  for  charges,  147. 
Land,  buildings  and  power  needed, 
70-71.  Other  matters  of  moment, 
71.  Machinery  and  hours  of  oper- 
ation, 71-72.  Machine  speeds,  72. 
Power  taken  in  spinning,  72.  Dif- 
ferent types  of  machines,  72. 
Other  equipment  needed,  73. 
Capital  invested  and  operating 
costs,  73.  Conditions  necessary 
for  profitable  operation,  73-74. 
Serious  risks  to  be  taken,  74 
Market  prices  for  throwing,  74- 
75.  Damages  caused  to  goods, 
348.  Claims  against  throwsters, 
149.  Wastages  in  throwing,  75. 
Rules  for  throwing  transactions, 
143~  14  4. 

Transportation  expenses  between 
mill  and  store,  8. 

Transmission  of  power  in  textile 
mills,  109-124. 

Trade-marks,   protecting,    297. 

Trade-marking,  goods  suitable  for, 
302. 

Tsatlee  silks,  disadvantages  of,  18 
Their  use  with  cotton  warps,  328- 
j29.  Irregular  size  makes  trouble, 
350. 

Tubes,  allowance  for  weight  of,   65 

Turner,   A.    G.,   Throwster,   44a. 

Tussah  silks,  raw  silk  rules,  138- 
143.  Boil-off,  146.  Use  with  cot- 
ton warps,  329. 

Twists  employed  in  cotton  spinning, 

58.  Effect  on  length  of  yarns,  58- 

59.  Table     showing     changes     in 
lengths   of  cotton   yarns,   59 

United  Piece  Dye  Works,  Piece  Dye- 
ing and  Finishing,  59a. 

United  States  Conditioning  and 
Testing  Co.,  17a. 

United  States  Conditioning  and 
Testing  Co.,  "The  Value  of  Condi- 
tioning," 49,  52.  Forms  for  use 
with  combination  test,  54-55.  The 
compound  sizing  test,  145.  Price 
list,  145. 

Universal    Textile    Co.,    Inc.,    Yarns, 

Universal        Throwing        Co.,        Inc., 

Throwsters,   38a. 
Universal    "Winding    Co.,    Machinery, 

Value  of  boil-off  tests  in  dyeing,  49. 

Value    of  conditioning,    151. 

Variation  of  boil-off  tests,   48. 

Variations  in  weighting,  41-43 

Verification  of  costs,  191-203.  Mis- 
givings as  to  returns  against  ex- 
penditures, 191.  Difficulty  of  in- 
vestigating:, 191-192.  Fluctuations 
in  prices,  192.  Disturbing  factors 


432 


INDEX 


in  the  situation,  192-193.  Neces- 
sary features  of  a  proper  system 
of  control,  194.  The  working-  out 
of  the  system,  194-195.  Standard 
bases  for  cost  sheets,  195.  Analy- 
sis of  broad  silk  cost  sheet,  195- 
196.  Fixed  figures  for  selling- 
prices  and  raw  material  costs, 
195.  Records  of  sales  and  of  price 
fluctuations,  195-196.  Value  of 
the  records  to  the  sales  manager, 
197-198.  Tabulations  to  be  made, 

198.  How    the    figures    are    han- 
dled   in    the    ledger,    198.      Prompt 
ascertainment      of      discrepancies, 

199.  Apportioning      the      general 
expense,   199.     Raw  materials  and 
work     done    on    commission,     199. 
Analyzing     the     selling     expense, 
199.      Interest    on    stock    a    selling 
expense,     200.      Losses     from     bad 
debts,  200.     Calculated  profits,  200. 
Raw      material      adjustment      ac- 
counts,     200-201.        Excess      labor 
costs    due    to    poor   materials,    201. 
Clearances    of    the     weights,    201. 
Value   of   stock   always   ascertain- 
able,    201.       Other    losses,    profits, 
and      expenses      shown,       201-202. 
Actual     and     calculated     expendi- 
tures, 201.     Transfer  of  records  to 
ledger,  202.      Full   detailed  exhibit 
each    month.    202.      Writing-off    at 
stocktaking,    202.      Differences    to 
be  adjusted,   202.      Control  of   rec- 
ords  from  sales  departments,   202. 
Cost    of    keeping    up    the    system, 
203. 

Victoria    Silk    Co.,    Throwsters,    45a. 

Villa  &  Bros.,  A.  P.,  Raw  and 
Thrown  Silks,  25a. 

Villa,  Stearns  Co.,  Raw  and  Thrown 
Silks,  47a. 

Wages,  variation  according  to  con- 
ditions, 214.  Wage  rates  a  local 
condition,  220-221.  Mill  wages 
fairly  constant,  155.  Variation  of 
wages  and  hours  of  work,  221. 
Underpaid  employees  unprofitable, 
214-215.  Rates  in  various  textile 
mills,  3.  Wages  in  cotton  mills, 
331.  Things  that  affect  weaving 
wages,  181.  Figuring  the  price 
for  weaving,  156.  Jacquard  weav- 
ing and  plain  goods,  208.  Rela- 
tion of  weaving  wages  to  ex- 
pense, 165.  Standard  wage  scales, 
225.  Paterson  price  list,  225-227. 
Low  wages  in  the  throwing 
branch,  69.  Throwing  waeres  in 
Scranton  and  Paterson,  221-222. 
Earnings  in  the  anthracite  re- 
gions, 239-240.  Wages  in  the  silk 
industry.  U.  S.  and  Europe,  222- 
224.  Mill  rules  regarding  pay- 
ment of  wages,  232-233.  Relation 
of  cost  calculation  to  actual  pay, 
205-206.  Checking  the  amounts 
paid,  199.  Money  saved  is  like 
increase  of  pay,  239.  Profit  shar- 

Warp'  tables  for  silk,   182-184. 

Waste  in  manufacturing,  allowance 
for  158.  Percentages  to  figure 
on  cost  sheets.  169-178.  Throw- 
ing waste,  75,  179.  How  to  figure 
throwing  waste,  51,  148,  149. 
Fancy  goods  waste,  208.  Waste 
of  silk  filling  made  by  cotton 
mills,  330-331.  Wastage  reduced 
by  humidification,  131. 

Water  supply,  requirements,  10. 
Importance  to  dvers,  98-99.  Dye- 
house  requirements,  106.  Impuri- 
ties, 99.  Water  for  silk  printing, 


78.  Methods  of  extraction  of 
water,  104-105.  Humidifier  re- 
quirements, 129-130. 

Watering  can,  how  its  use  affects 
dyeing  costs,  49. 

Webster  &  Co.,  Warren,  Steam 
Heating1  System,  TOoa. 

Weidmann  Silk  Dyeing  Co.,  Skein 
Dyers,  50a. 

Weighting  of  silks,  percentages  and 
costs  of,  40-56.  Reasons  for 
weighting,  32-33.  When  justi- 
fiable, 30.  Advantage  to  con- 
sumer, 35.  Materials  employed, 
33,  100-101.  Processes,  33,  101-102. 
How  weightings  are  ordered,  40- 
41.  Dyeing  charges,  34-35.  Dyers' 
price  lists,  43-44.  Dyeing  charged 
for  by  the  owner,  43-44.  Charging 
on  a  percentage  basis,  44.  Rela- 
tion of  fibre  to  adulterant,  34,  41. 
Blue-black  dyeing,  102.  Limits 
of  weighting,  33-34.  Manufac- 
turers ignorant  of  percentage  of 
adulteration,  34.  41.  Figuring 
dyed  weight  of  cloth,  171.  Varia- 
tions in  weighting,  41-43.  Differ- 
ences between  lots,  48-49.  Varia- 
tion of  boil-off,  48.  How  boil-off 
affects  weighting  cost,  44-45. 
Boil-off  table,  45.  How  the  dyer 
may  be  mulcted,  46-47.  Table  of 
cost  reduction  by  use  of  soap  and 
water,  47.  How  the  watering  can 
affects  dyeing  costs,  49.  Value  of 
boil-off  tests,  49-51.  Figuring  the 
throwing  waste,  51.  Scientific 
and  unscientific  tests,  52.  Neces- 
sity for  systematic  tests,  43.  The 
value  of  conditioning,  52.  The 
combination  test,  52-53.  Forms 
used  in  connection  with  tests.  53- 
56.  Difficulties  with  weighted 
silks,  35-36.  Injury  to  the  fabrics, 
35-36.  Weighting  of  piece  dyes, 
38-39.  Who  is  to  blame  for  over- 
weighting? 36.  Distributers'  lying 
descriptions,  36-37.  Manufacturers 
suffer  by  refusal  to  overweight, 
37-38.  A  suggested  remedy,  39. 

Welfare  work  among  mill  opera- 
tives, 235-242.  Self-supporting 
propositions,  235.  State  legisla- 
tion, 235-236.  Rewards  for  long 
and  faithful  service,  236.  A 
method  which  might  be  employed, 
236-237.  Sick-benefit  societies, 
237.  Necessary  rules.  237.  A  plan 
which  has  worked  well,  237-239. 
Details  of  the  management,  238. 
Suspicious  attitude  of  employees, 
213-214,  238-239.  Building  for  club 
room,  and  for  class  room  for  help, 
217.  Cooking  and  dressmaking 
classes,  239.  Assisting  employees 
in  saving,  239.  Earnings  of  silk 
workers  in  the  anthracite  region, 
239-240.  Prizes  for  suggestions, 
240-242.  Profit  sharing,  242. 

What  to  figure  for  depreciation  of 
plant,  370-378. 

White   silks,   boil-off,    20. 

Wilmerdingr.  Morris  &  Mitchell,  Auc- 
tioneers, 76a. 

Wool  and  worsted,  regain  of  mois- 
ture, 126. 

Wool,   annual  per  capita  supply,   32. 

Woolens,     and     shoddy     admixtures, 

Tarn    dealers'    advice,   value    of,    57- 

58. 

Tarns   needed    for   sampling,    282. 
Tellow    silks,    boil-off,    20. 
Yoimer    &    Co..    Charles    W.,    Textile 

Sonps,  Back  Cover. 


la 


Advertising  Section 


Advertisements  of  the 
Leading  Houses  in  the  different 
branches  of  the  industry  ^are  [[here 
presented  H 

TOGETHER  WITH 


Many    valuable     Reference     Tables 
for   the   use   of  Manufacturers. 


2a 


WILLIAM  SKINNER  &  SONS 


MILLS — Holyoke,  Mass. 

SALESROOMS— New  York,  Chicago,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  etc. 


Manufacturers  of 


Stunners  Satin 

Used  by  all  CLOTHING  MANUFACTURERS 
FUR    MANUFACTURERS 
CLOAK  MANUFACTURERS 


FOR   SALE  IN  ALL   DRY   GOODS   HOUSES 


Always    measure    up  to  the  very  highest  quality- 
standard    because    of    more    than    seventy    years' 
experience  in  the  manufacture  of  all  kinds  of  silk  and 
unequalled  manufacturing  facilities. 

There  are  Cheney  Silk  Yarns  for  every  possible 
requirement.  To  be  had  spun  and  reeled ;  doubles 
and  singles;  trams  and  organzines.  Delivered  as 
customer  prefers — on  spools  or  cones,  warped  or  in 
the  hank ;  in  the  gray  or  dyed. 


By  reason  of  a  policy  that  constantly  seeks  perfection 

in  the  manufacture  of  silks  for  all  purposes,  Cheney 

Silks  have  attained  a  position  recognized  by  all  as 

the  standard  of  silk  excellence. 

The  following  silk  products  have  made  Cheney  Silks 
a  world-wide  name :  Cheney  Dress  and  Lining  Silks, 
Foulards,  "Shower-Proof  Foulards,  Millinery  and 
Knitting  Silks,  Satins,  Velvets,  Plushes,  Silk  and 
Velvet  Ribbons,  Wash  and  Underwear  Ribbons, 
Cravats,  Decorative  and  Upholstery  Goods. 

CHENEY  BROTHERS 

Silk  Manufacturers          4th  Ave.  and  1 8th  St.,  New  York 


Phoenix  Silk 

Manufacturing  Co. 

334-4th  Ave.,  NEW  YORK  CITY 
Manufacturers  of  All  Grades  and  Weaves  of 

Dress  Silks,  Linings  and  Ribbons 

PLAIN  AND  FANCY 

DRESS 

SILKS, 

RIBBONS, 

SILKS, 

LININGS 


INCORPORATED   1824. 


TIE   SILKS 

Complete  lines  of  plain  and  fancy  Tie  Silks  in  all 
up-to-date  weaves  and  patterns* 

TUBULAR  AND  PHOENIX  WOVEN  NECKWEAR 

We  carry  a  large  stock  of  Tubulars  and  the  famous 
Phoenix  Woven  Neckwear.  We  also  solicit  loom  orders  on 
special  designs  on  the  above,  and  also  on  De  Joinvilles* 


STEHLI  &  CO. 

NEW  YORK      ZURICH       LONDON       PARIS 
BERLIN  MILAN 

104-112  East  25th  Street 

Near  4th  Avenue 

NEW  YORK 


MAKERS  and  DIRECT  SELLERS  OF 


WORWS  STANDARD 

FOR  ALL  TRADES  AND  PURPOSES. 


American  Hills 

LANCASTER,  PA. 
HIGH  POINT,  N.  C. 


European  Mi 

SWITZERLAND 
GERMANY 
ITALY 


6a 


R.  &  H.  SIMON 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 


Broad  Silks  of  Every  Description, 
Ribbons  and  Pile  Fabrics 


nito  taring 

dP 


Up-to-Date  weaves  in  up-to-date  colors  for  the  fine 
Retail  and  Manufacturing  trades 


Mill**  UN10N  HILL,  N.  J.       Q    I  .  254  FOURTH  AVENUE 

Mills:  EASTON,  PA.        salesrooms:  NEW  YORK 


PELGRAM 

and 

MEYER 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 

Silks — Ribbons 
Velvet  Ribbons 

Cotton  Back  Satins 


395  FOURTH  AVENUE 

CORNER  28th  STREET 

NEW  YORK 


FACTORIES  : 

Paterson,  N.  J.    Boon  ton,  N.  J. 
Harrisburg,  Pa. 


S.T 


Schwarzenbach, 
Huber  and  Company 

470-8    Fourth   Avenue 
New  York 

Broad  Silks 

DISTRIBUTERS  FOR 

The  Schwarzenbach  Huber  Co., 

West  Hoboken,  N.  J 

Robt.  Schwarzenbach  &  Co., 

Thalwil,  Switzerland. 

Boussieu  and 

La  Tour  du  Pin,  France. 

Hiiningen  and 
Konstanz,  Germany. 

Flli.  Schwarzenbach  &  Co. 

San  Pietro-Seveso,  Italy. 


loa 


BLOOMSBURG 
SILK    MILL 

flANUFACTURERS  OF  BROAD  SILKS 

Always  the  Latest  Fabrics 
Always  the  Most  Desirable  Weaves 

WE    MAKE   SPECIAL   PROVISION   FOR   THE  WANTS   OF 

JOBBERS, 

RETAILERS, 

CUTTING-UP  TRADES 

IF  YOU  ARE  LOOKING  FOR 

STYLE  —  QUALITY  —  VALUE 

CALL  AND  SEE  US 

FACTORIES 
BLOOMSBURG,  PENN.  LOCKHAVEN,  PENN. 

SALESROOHS 

WITH    FLEITMANN    &    CO. 

46  EAST  26th  STREET 

NEW  YORK 


na 


Rogers  £  Thompson 


INC. 


35'y; 


Fourth  Avenue  at 
Twenty-sixth  St.,  New  York 

At  all  times 

we  promise  to  show  you 

The    Ultra   Fashions  in   Silks 


our  inspection  is  inbiteb. 


123. 


ANDREAE  SILK  CO 

NORFOLK,  VIRGINIA 

Specialists  in  the  manufacture  of 

HIGH  GRADE  SILK  FABRICS 


Brocades,  Fancies  |and  Plain   Weaves 

Dress  and  Manufacturing  Trades 

INECKWEAR  SILKS 
OF  THE  BETTER  QUALITIES 


|SoIe    manufacturers    of    the    genuine 

Peau  de  Crepe" 
"Servisilk'1 

"Crepe  de  Luxe" 

"Norsico  Fabrics 

All  Trade  Marked  and  Registered 

Equipped  for  the  Making  of 
WIDE    and    EXTRA    WIDE    Fabrics 


Joseph  Loth  &  Co. 

117  East  23rd  Street,  New   York   City 

Mills:  NORWALK,  CONN. 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 

Ribbons.     Plain  and  Jacquard,  all  grades. 
Hat  Bands.     Blacks,  colors  and  fancy. 
Cravats.     Tubular. 

Specialties 

Belting,    Webbing,    Labels,    Narrow    woven 
fabrics,    yarn    and    piece    dye. 


143 


HARTLEY  SILK 

MANUFACTURING 

COMPANY 

BROAD  SILKS 

AND 

R  I1B  B  O  N  S 


HILLS 

TO  WAN  DA,  PA.         TRUMANSBURQ,  N.Y. 
TOPTON,    PA.  SIDNEY,  N.Y, 

PITTSTON,  PA.      WAVERLY,  N.Y. 


Hartley  Building 

377  Fourth  Ave.  New  York 


1 5* 
ff 


Silk  Gloves 
Thread  Silk  Hosiery 
Italian  Silk  Underwear 
Swiss  Ribbed  Underwear 
Italian  Silk*  Hosiery 

bear  today,  as  they  have  for  three  generations, 
that  mark  of  assurance  of  quality  and  relia- 
bility— the  name  of  the  maker.  The  generally 
acknowledged  supremacy  of  the  "KATSER" 
Merchandise  is  not  the  work  of  a  day  or  a  year, 
but  the  cumulative  result  of  many  years  leader- 
ship which  compels  gradual  recognition  and 
emulation  on  the  part  of  others  in  the  same  field. 

"KATSER"  products  are  the  "standard" 
by  which  others  are  measured. 

JULIUS    KAYSER    ftf    CO. 

Largest  Silk  Glove  Manufacturers  of  the  World 

45  EAST  i  yth  STREET 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


i6a 


Travelers'  Checks 
Letters  of  Credit 
Cable  Transfers 
Foreign  Exchange 


Capital  and 

Surplus 
$1.450.000.00 


Charter  Member  of 

New  York 
Clearing  House 


PACIFIC 

BANK 


ESTABLISHED   1850 

To  carry  out  the  purpose  for  which  this 
Bank  was  established  over  sixty  years  ago, 
namely  to  supply  banking  facilities  to  reli- 
able merchants,  we  solicit  your  business. 

H.   B.   BRUNDRETT,   Chairman  of  Board 
O.    H.    CHENEY,   President 

WILLIAM  SKINNER,   Vice  President 

S.   C.   MERWIN,   Cashier 

J.    C.    LAWRENCE,   Ass't  Cashier 


No.  470 
Broadway 


TWO 
OFFICES 


Madison  Ave, 
and  28th  St. 


H.  D.  KLOTS,  President  Bv    VON  BRIESEN,  Vice  President 

E.  J    STEHU  Treasurer  KAMSAY  PEUGNET,     Secretary 

tCjje  Winitti*  g>tate0 

Conditioning  anfc 

Crating  Co. 

OFFICES  AND  LABORATORIES : 

340-344  Hudson  St.,  cor.  Charlton  St. 
New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

D.  E.  DOUTY,  Manager  F.  G.  BOYE,  Superintendent 

K.  B.  LAMB,  Chemical  Engineer 


The  ^laboratories  of  the  United  States  Con- 
ditioning and  Testing  Co.  are  the  largest  and  most 
completely  equipped  of  any  in  America  for  the 
general  testing  and  investigation  of  raw  materials 
and  manufactured  products  of  silk,  cotton,  wool, 
and  other  textile  fibers. 

Conditioning,  weighing,  boiling-off  of  silk  and 
scouring  of  wool ;  testing  of  yarns  for  count,  uni- 
formity, strength,  elasticity,  twist,  length  of 
staple,  etc. ;  the  analysis  of  fabrics  for  fiber,  weave, 
loading,  etc.,  and  tests  of  color  are  promptly  re- 
ported. 

Chemical  analyses  of  materials  and  the  inves- 
tigation of  technical  chemical  problems  are  under- 
taken. 

Expert  advice  and  assistance  in  the  develop- 
ment of  industrial  processes  will  be  furnished. 


i8a 


CLASSIFICATION    OF   CHINA   SILKS. 

The  principal  silks  from  North  China  are  either  those  reeled  in 
establishments  equipped  and  conducted  after  the  European  methods, 
which  are  known  as  "Steam  Filatures,"  or  those  reeled  by  the  natives 
in  a  primitive  fashion,  and  which  are  known  as  "Tsatlees."  There 
are  also  the  Tussahs,  both  filature  reels  and  native  reels. 

The  reeling  of  the  Tsatlees  is  conducted  without  the  killing  of 
the  chrysalides,  and  so  has  to  be  completed  within  a  week  or  two 
after  the  cocoons  have  been  spun  and  before  the  moths  have  had 
time  to  emerge. 

As  the  great  bulk  of  the  crop  is  reeled  in  this  hasty  way,  and  every 
available  person  is  engaged  at  it,  it  follows  that  the  silk  produced — 
while  of  the  greatest  natural  brilliancy — is  coarse  in  size  and  ex- 
tremely irregular,  and  the  skeins  are  of  a  sort  that  are  troublesome 
for  the  throwster  to  handle,  and  were  all  formerly  reeled  without 
being  crossed.  "Crossed  reels"  are  now  furnished,  and  silks,  originally 
straight  reeled,  are  re-reeled  into  crossed  reels,  and  are  known  as 
"Improved  reels." 

The  Haineen  silks — called  after  the  district  where  produced — are 
sometimes  quoted  separately,  being  much  favored  by  some  users. 

Chinas,  Japans,  and  filature  tussahs  are  packed  in  picul  bales  of 
about  133%  Ibs. 

The  term  "Chinas"  is  not  understood  to  include  Canton  silks, 
though  these  come  from  South  China.  They  are  entirely  different  in 
nature  from  the  North  China  silks,  and  are  generally  reeled  in  the 
size  of  ifie  deniers.  They  are  packed  in  bales  of  80  catties=:106%  Ibs. 

The  following  classifications  have  been  carefully  prepared  by 
Messrs,  Arnhold,  Karberg  &  Co.,  of  China,  and  are  for  the  season  of 
1912-1913. 

They  show  the  classifications,  and  the  different  selections  in  which 
each  is  offered,  together  with  the  equivalent  prices  in  taels,  which — 
for  the  first  grades — were  the  approximate  market  values  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  season,  and  the  other  prices  are  given  to  show  the 
relative  values  of  the  various  grades. 

The  tael  (of  Shanghai)  is  a  weight  of  silver  of  l1^  oz.,  and,  as  its 
value  fluctuates  with  the  cost  of  the  silver  metal,  the  quotations  of 
Chinese  silks  are  also  affected  as  bar  silver  goes  up  or  down. 

The  quotations  given  are  for  picul  bales  of  about  133%  Ibs.  net, 
delivered  in  Shanghai. 

The  1%  oz.  weight  of  the  tael  is  in  avoirdupois  ounces  of  437% 
grains.  The  quotations  of  bar  silver  are  in  Troy  ounces  of  480  grains. 
Thus,  if  silver  was  quoted  at  25d.  (50  cents)  an  ounce,  the  net  value 
of  the  tael  would  be  60^  cents,  and  a  price  of  880  taels  for  a  133%  Ib. 
bale  of  "Soy  Lun"  would  figure  out  a  silver  cost  of  $4.01  per  pound. 

To  arrive  at  the  cost,  landed  in  New  York,  there  would  have  to  be 
added  to  the  above  figures  the  expense  of  the  buying,  inspection, 
weighing,  brokerages,  transportation,  insurance,  exchange,  interest, 
and  other  charges,  to  figure  which  accurately  is  a  complex  matter. 

In  figuring  on  China  silks  in  New  York,  it  is  customary  to  estimate 
the  value  of  the  tael  as  70  cents  when  bar  silver  is  at  26d.  (52  cents), 
and  proportionately  for  other  prices. 

Canton  silks  are  quoted  in  Asia  in  Mexican  dollars,  which  are  worth 
about  50  cents  in  gold. 

Japanese  silks  are  quoted  in  "yen,"  which  are  also  worth  about 
50  cents,  gold. 


Morimura,  Aral 
&  Co. 

19  Madison  Ave.,        New  York 

=  Branch  of  = 

Yokohama 
Ki-ito   Gomel   Kwaisha 

(Yokohama  Raw  Silk  Co.) 
Yokohama,  JaPan 


RAW  SILK 


2oa 


CLASSIFICATION    OF   CHINA   STEAM   FILATURES. 

Price 
Taels 

Extra-Best  Chops 

Soy   Lun 

Anchor 

Ex.   1.   2 

880 

Sinchong 

Factory 

Ex.    I.   2 

870 

E  W 

E.   Woo 

F 

Best  1.   2 

" 

Best  Chops 

Yang    Silk    Filat. 

Class  1      Rayon   d'Or 

Ex.   1.   2 

850 

Lun    Hwa 

Gold    Dble    Dragon 

1.    2.    3 

" 

M.  Denegri 

M.    D. 

Ex.    1.   2 

" 

Tong   Yue 

Evergreen 

Ex.   1.   2 

" 

Jinchong 

Gold     Crown 

Ex.    1.   2 

" 

Yah    Sun    Chong 

Class  2      Billiken 

Ex.   1.   2 

840 

Chun   Tsiang 

Flying  Lizards 

1.   2.   3 

" 

Woo    Tsze    King 

W.    T.    K. 

Ex.   1.   2 

" 

M.    Denegri 

Teh    Lih 

Ex.   1.   2 

Fair  Best  Chops 

Sun    Kee 

Class  I        Centaure 

Ex.   1.   2 

825 

Wei  Lung 
Ze    Jing   Yung 

Stag 
Ze    Jing   Yung 

Ex.   1.   2 
Ex.   1.   2 

Sin   Kong 

Griffon" 

Ex.    1.   2 

'        • 

Yung   Tai 

Gold  Dble  Deer 

1.   2.   3 

' 

Yah    Wo 

Gold  Clock 

Ex.   1.   2 

• 

Yah    Zun    Chong 

Gold    Watch 

Ex.   1.   2 

* 

Wu    Tsze   Kee 

Jockey 

1.   2.   3 

• 

Jeay    Khong 

Sans   Pareil 

1,   2,   3 

" 

Yah    Yuen 

Gold  Dollar 

Ex.    1.   2 

<« 

Ching  Wah 

Double  Cock 

1.   2.    3 

" 

M.    Denegri 

Rose 

Ex.   1.   2 

•• 

Wai  Lung 

Class  2      Airship 

Ex.    1.   2 

815 

Yah    Kee 

Horseshoe 

1.   2.   3 

Yung  Lung 

Columbia 

Ex.    1.   2 

« 

Yah    Woo 

Soleil 

Ex.    1.   2 

« 

Sin  Foo 

Sphinx 

Ex.   1.   2 

« 

L.   Amidani 

Dble   Peach 

Ex.    1.   2 

< 

C.    Bedoni 

CrysanthSme 

Ex.   1.   2 

« 

Yuen    Chong 

Lily 

Ex.   1.   2 

< 

China    St.    Filat 

Geranium 

Ex.   1.    2 

" 

do 

Eagle    Globe 

Ex.    1.   2 

«« 

Soy   Dzun 

Eagle 

Ex.   1.   2 

" 

Good  Chops 

Dah    Lun 

Class   1      Stork 

1.    2.    3 

805 

Hun  Yeh 

H.   Y. 

Ex    1     2 

Dar    Kin 

Double    Phoenix 

1.   2.   3 

« 

Tsun   Woo 

Spider   &    Web 

Ex.    1.   2 

« 

Wah  Sung 

Lafayette 

1.   2.    3 

«< 

Yih    Cheong 

Gold   Sycee 

Ex.    1.   2 

« 

Yue   Khong 

Camelia 

Ex.    1.   2 

« 

Hah  Hih  Hoh 

Two   Gods 

Ex.   1.   2 

« 

Jeay  Lung 
Tung    Wei 

Class  2      Nine  Dragons 
Flying   Unicorn 

1.   2.    3 
1.    2.    3 

800 

Yue    Woo 

Comet 

Ex.    1.    2 

<« 

Chue  Zen 

Diamond 

Ex.    1.    2 

«< 

Sun    Dah 

Iris 

Ex    1     2 

« 

Yung  Kee 

Gold    Bat 

Ex.    1.   2 

n 

L.   Amidani 

Eiffel-Tower 

Ex.    1.   2 

« 

Shing    Wah 
Sung   Kee 
Pao    Woo 

Dble    Fish    &   Dragon 
|            Flying   Stork 

1.   2.   3 
1.   2.   3 
Ex    1     2 

« 

Sun  Woo 

Good   Boy 

Ex.    1.   2 

< 

Tsun  Nih 
L.   Amidani 

Gold   Dble   Eagle 
Bulldog 

Ex.    1.   2 
Ex.    1.   2 

« 

2ia 


MITSUI  &  CO.,  LTD 


(MITSUI  BUSSAN   KAISHA,  LTD.) 


25  Madison  Avenue,  N.  Y. 


CABLE  ADDRESS  "MITSUI1 


TELEPHONE   10010  MAD.  SQ. 


RAW  SILK 


JAPAN,    CANTON,    TUSSAH.    CHINA 
FILATURE,    TSATLEE 

IMPORTERS    AND    EXPORTERS 

CAMPHOR,  COAL,  COPPER,  LUMBER,  BEAN  OIL,,   TEA,    COTTON, 
MACHINERY,  RAILROAD  EQUIPMENTS,  ETC. 


MAIN  OFFICE:  TOKIO,  JAPAN 


YOKOHOMA 


LONDON 

HAMBURG 

SAN    FRANCISCO 

PORTLAND 

DALLAS 

VLADIVOSTOCK 

HARBIN 

BOMBAY 

CALCUTTA 

BANGKOK 

SINGAPORE 

SYDNEY 

SOURABAIA 

MANILA 

RANGOON 

KABAFUTO 


BRANCH     OFFICES: 
SHANGHAI  CANTON 


HONGKONG 

AMOY 

FOOCHOW 

HANKOW 

TSINGTAU 

PEKING 

TIENSTIN 

NEWCHANG 

CHEFOO 

DALNY 

MUKDEN 

TIELING 

CHOSHUN 

GIRIN 

ANTOHKEN 


OSAKA 

KOBE 

NAGASAKI 

MOJI 

NAGOYA 

YOKOSUKA 

KUCHINOTZU 

NIIGATA 

TSURUGA 

MIIKE 

WAKAMATSU 

KARATSU 

KURE 

KISHIMA 

SASEBO 


LYONS 


MAIZURU 

MURORAN 

AWOMORI 

SUNAGAWA 

OTARU 

SAPPORO 

TAIPEH 

TAINAN 

TAIHOKU 

TAKAW 

SHOKA 

KAGI 

SEOUL 

FUSAN 

CHEMULPO 


22a 


CLASSIFICATION 

OF   STEAM   FILATURES 

(Continued). 

Good  Secondary  Chops 

Price 
Taels 

Hung  Kee              Class 
Yung   Tai 

1        Tiger 
Gold  Globe 

1.2.3    785 
1.  2.  3      " 

Wai  Lun 

Gold  Elephant 

1.2.3      " 

Yuen  Lung 

Dragon 

1.2.3      " 

Hung  Shing 

Jeanne   d'Arc 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Dong  Yah  Dzang        ' 

Sea  Pagoda 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Zun  Woo 

W.  S. 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Yue  Chong 

Snow  Hill  &  Pagoda 

1.2.3      " 

Shanghai  St.  filat. 

Carnation 

Ex.  1.  3      " 

Tcheng  Lun           Class 

2        Gold  Flying  Tiger 

Ex.  1.2    775 

A.  Riva 

Gold   Star 

Ex.  1.2      " 

Yue  Kong 

Wong  Poo  Tong 

1.2.3      " 

Yah  Lun 

Trois  Etoiles 

1.  2.  3      " 

Yuen   Chong 

Star   &  Dragon 

1.  2.  3      " 

Sun  Meu 

Medaille 

1.2.3      " 

Chang  Lun 

Tramcar 

1.  2.  3      " 

Pao  Woo 

Lighthouse 

1.2.3      " 

Lee  Chee 

Sea  Lion 

Ex.  1.2      " 

Kung  Yih 

Mowtai  Peony 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Zee  Lun 

Parrot 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Zih  Luen 

Flag  &  Globe 

Ex.  1.2      " 

Yung  Lee 

Three  Sheeps 

1.  2.  3      " 

Tsun  Nee 

Flower  Boat 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Gee  Kee 

Mulberry   Tree    &   Web 

1.2.3      " 

Zee   Tsun 

Moon  &  Fish 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Shing  Tze 

Lion 

1.  2.  3      " 

Shanghai  St.  filat. 

Deer  &  Stork 

1.  2.  3      " 

Ting  Tze  Kee 

T.  T. 

Ex.  1.2      " 

S.  M.  Yun 

Minerve 

1.2.3      " 

Zee  Lung 

Gold  Swan 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Secondary  Chops 

Lun   Chong 

Flying  Horse 

Ex.  1.2    760 

Ching  Wah 

Worm  Leaf  &  Cocoons 

1.  2.  3      " 

Gee  Zun 

Excelsior 

1.  2.  3      " 

Dah  Lun  Jinkee 

Gold  Pagoda 

Ex.  1.2      " 

Keechong 

K  C  S  F  in  cross 

1.  2.  3      " 

L,ei  Woo 

Gold  Cash 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Gee  Fong 

Monkey  &  Wasp 

1.  2.  3      " 

Jeay  Shing 

Whai  San 

1.  2.  3      " 

Zee  Lung 

Flag 

1.2.3      " 

Lun  Hwa 

Single  Dragon 

1.  2.  3      " 

Wei   Lung 

Old  Man 

1.2.3      " 

Dai  King 

Double   Cat 

1.2.3      " 

Yung  Tai 

Moon  &  Rabbit 

1.2.3      " 

Yue  Khong 

Lily  Flower 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Yue  Woo 

Saturn 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Sin  Dah 

Flying  Girl 

1.  2.  3      " 

Nee  Chong 

Gold  Bell 

1.2.3      " 

Yue  Woo 

Rainbow 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Fil.   a   1'Europeenne 

Wheelbarrow 

Ex.  1.2      " 

Dong  Yah  Dzang 

Dirigeable 

Ex.  1.  2      " 

Tata  Sons  ®  Co. 


RAW 
SILK 


45O  FOURTH  AVENUE 

NEW      YO  R 


E 
B 

CLASSIFICATION    OF   TSATLEE,   IMPROVED    REEL. 

xtra  Best  Chops                                  Good  Chops 

Price  for  1st  grade                                  Price  for  1st  grade 
Taels                                                           Taels 
Gold  Eagle  Globe  Ex.  1.  2.  3  635       Gold  Mowtai  Peony      1.  2.  3     575 

G^derEagdl°e'Bell    E^i"      -        Gold  Kangaroo 
Silver       do.                  1.2.3                 Plough                          Ex.  1.  2       570 
Blue  Dragon           Ex.  1.2      620       Cloud  &  Dragon       Ex.  1.2 
Flying  Horse         Ex.  1.  2                  Tiffer                            Ex.  1.2 
Gold  Zabra             Ex.  1.  2 
Silver     do.              Ex.  1.2                  Market  1  Chops 
est  Chops                                              Black  Lion                       1.2.3     550 
Gold  Dollar            Ex.  1.2      600      Three  Arrows                 1.2.3      - 
rountam                  Ex.  1.2 

Red  Almond  Fl'r  Ex",  l'.  2 

Wild  Dragon                   1.  2.  6 

Green       do.           Ex.  1.  2 

Red    Peacock             Ex.  1.2 

" 

Five  Lions              Ex.  1.  2 

Gold  Stork 

" 

- 

Leopard                   Ex.  1.  2 
Flying  Eagle               1.2.3      " 
Horse                             1.2.3 

Moon  &  Fairy                 1.  2.  3 
Red  Locomotive       Ex.  1.2 

« 

Alm'd  Fl'r  &  M'n    Ex.  1.2 

Blue  Horse                      1.  2.  3 

do.        &St'ne       1.2.3 

Gold  Clock                      1.  2.  3 

" 

- 

Cloud  &  Lion         Ex.  1.  2 
Flying  Stork                1.  2.  3 
Gold  Motorcar       Ex.  1.2 

Small  Buffalo             Ex.  1.2 
Blue  Zebra                      1.2.3 

« 

Silver     do.               Ex.  1.2 

Gold  Eagle  Skeins         1.2.3 

Gold  Dble  Eagle  Ex.  1.2 

Blue  A  B   C  in  star 

" 

Silver     do.              Ex.  1.  2 
Gold  H  in  star      Ex.  1.2        " 
Silver  H  in  star    Ex.  1.  2 

Water  Lily  Flower        1.  2.  3 
Mountain  &  Pagoda       1.  2.  3 

«• 

jStar  &  Stripes        '   L2.3      " 

Gold  Phoenix             Ex.  1.  2 

545 

Red  Indian                1.  2.  3 

Gold  Dble  Keys        Ex.  1.  2 

" 

' 

'Gold  Peacock        Ex.  1.2 
Silver     do.               Ex.  1.  2 
'  Gold  Fish                Ex.  1.  2 

Green  Flying  Stork      1.  2.  3 
Gold  Flying  Eagle         1.  2.  3 

«i 

Silver  Fish             Ex.  1.  2 

Gold  Three  Foxes        1.2.3 

" 

Sphinx                      Ex.  1.  2 

Carriage                            1.  2.  3 

" 

Sphinx  &  Lion       Ex.  1.  2 

Bell                                    1.2.3 

« 

Lion  &  Scale               1.  2.  3      " 
Sheep  &  Flag              1.2.3 
Solstice                      ABC 

Mars  S  Y  K                1.&2 
Gold  Buffalo              Ex.  1.  2 

« 

Globe                         ABC 

Gold  Watch                   1.&2 

" 

Gold  Elephant       Ex.  1.2 

Columbia                          1.  2.  3 

540 

Silver  Elephant     Ex.  1.  2 
Blue  Fl'g  W'm'n  Ex.  1.  2 

Black  Dble  Guns          1.&2 

Black  Fl'gW'm'n  Ex.  1.  2 

Sun                                  1.  &2 

Yuen  Shi  Kai          Ex.  1.2 

Oregon                        Ex.  1.  2 

" 

] 

Republican  Flag    Ex.  1.  2 
Blue  Eagle  &  Bell        1.2.3     590 
Gold  Dble  Swal's        1.  2.  3     590 

Red  Riding  Horse         1.2.3 
Eagle  &  Pagoda             1.  2.  3 

« 

M 

Silver   Dble   Swal's    1.2.3 
Gold  Riding  Horse  1.2.3       " 
Silver  Riding  Horse  1.  2.  3 

Market  2  Chops 
Silver  Stork                   1.&2 

515 

G'd  Sycee  &  Boy  Ex.  1.  2 

Silver  Phoenix              1.  &  2 

a 

9'r  Sycee  &  Boy  Ex.  1.  2 

Cash  Chop                        1.2.3 

« 

A.  P.  Villa  ®  Bros. 


Raw  and 
Thrown 

SILK 


NEW  YORK 

Milan        Turin        Lyon      Yokohama 
Shanghai          Canton 


New  York  Office 

95    MADISON  AVE. 

Telephone  Mills  at 

MADISON  Sq.  10080  PASSAIC,  N.  J, 


26a 


CLASSIFICATION    OF 
TSATLEE  FILATURE, 
CROSSED. 

Price  for  1st  grade 
Taels 
Extra-Best  Chops 
(  Blue  Dragon          Ex.  1.  2      610 
I  Flying   Horse         Ex.  1.  2 
5  Blue  Monster         Ex.  1.  2 
(  Race  Horse            Ex.  1.2 

CLASSIFICATION  OF 
HAINEEN    FILATURE, 
CROSSED. 

Price  for  1st  grade 
Taels 
fGold  Butterfly            1.2.3    590 
\  Butterfly  & 
[Almond  Flower          1.2.3 
Blue  Lion                        1.2.3     560 
Buffalo                     Ex.  A  B  C      " 
Black  Horse                    1.2.3     540 
Mountain  & 

(Fighting  Cock         ABC      605 
[Cock  &  Centipede     1.2.3 
5  Gold  Butterfly             1.2.3     600 
]  Butterfly  & 
[     Almond  Flower      1.2.3 

Pagoda                          1.  2.  3 
MarsSYK               Ex.  1.2      505 
Gold  Unicorn               1.  &  2      500 
Mercury                      Ex.  1.  2      480 
Oregon                           1.  &2 
Moose                            1.&2      470 

(  Old  Man 

Ex.  1.2 

Mars  K  K                      1.&2 

(Two  Men 

1.2.3 

Two  Gods                     1.&2 

f  Cloud  &  Stork 
7  Blue  Lion 

Ex.  1.  2 
1.  2.  3 

CLASSIFICATION  OF 

HAINEEN    IMPROVED 

Best  Chops 

REEL. 

Gold   Flying 

Best  Chops 

Dragon 

Ex.  1.2.3  580 

Price  for  1st  grade 

Tapis 

Good  Chops 

Black  Hand               Ex.  1.2  ~~590 

Plough 

1.2.3    570 

'  Red  Almond 

Gold  Cock 

1.2.3      " 

Flower                 Ex.  1.2      590 

Monkey  &  Bee 

Ex.  1.2.3    " 

Green  Almond 

Pegasus 
Buffalo 
Double  Fish 

T^* 

Ex.  1.  2      565 
ABCD     " 
Ex,  1.2 

Flower                 Ex.  1.  2 
'Gold  Peacock        Ex.  1.2 
Silver  Peacock       Ex.  1.  2 
Gold  Dollar            Ex.  1.  2 

Fan 

Ex.  1.  2.  3     " 

Fountain                  Ex.  1.  2 

Flag 

1.2.3      " 

Gold  Pheasant       Ex.  1.  2 

Mountain  & 

Blue  Pheasant        Ex.  1.  2 

Pagoda 

1.2.3    555 

Cloud  Lion             Ex.  1.  2 

Good  Secondary  Chops 
Small  Buffalo            Ex.  1.  2      530 
MarsSSS                   1.&2 

C 

Flying  Stork           Ex.  1.  2 
Gold  Elephant       Ex.  1.2 
Silver  Elephant      Ex.  1.  2 
Jood  Chops 

Secondary  Chops 

Chinese  Volunteer    Ex.  1.2      555 

Gold   Dollar 

Ex.  1.2      520 

Mountain  & 

Eagle  &  Skeins 
Gold  Mars  S  Y  C 
Gold  Mars  P  V  M 
Black  Tiger 

1.&2      510 
1.&2 
1.&2 
Ex.  1.  2 

Pagoda                          1.2.3     545 
Red  Peacock              Ex.  1.  2      540 
Red  Locomotive        Ex.  1.  2      540 
Gold  Stork                      1.2.3 
Gold  Phoenix            Ex.  1.2 

Mars  S  Y  K 

1.&2 

Green  Flying  Stork        1.  2.  3 

Mercury 

Ex.  1.2      485 

Gold  Three  Foxes          1.  2.  3 

Oregon 

1.&2 

Gold  Flying  Eagle         1.2.3 

Mars  K  K 

1.  &.  2      480 

Market  Chops 

Moose 

1.&2 

Silver  Stork                   1.&2      510 

Two  Gods 

1.  &2 

Silver  Phoenix               1  &  2 

Spun  Silk  Yarns 

(SCHAPPE) 
for  Every  Purpose 

Dyed   and   undyed 


Champlain   Silk   Mills 

500  Driggs  Avenue 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. . 


OFFICES 

New  York  Providence,  R.  I. 

38  East  25th  Street  Industrial  Trust  Building 

MILLS 

Whitehall,  N.  Y.  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


28a 


293 


UNIVERSAL 
TEXTILE  COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED) 

96-98  GRAND  STREET 
NEW  YORK 

Thrown  and  Dyed  Silk 

Yarns 

Cotton,  Artificial  Silk,  Tinsel 
and  Worsted 

FOR 

EMBROIDERY 
WEAVING 
LACE 

KNITTING 

SOLE  DISTRIBUTERS  FOR 

"UNITEX" 

(REGISTERED) 

DOUBLE     LUSTRE 

MERCERIZED  YARNS 


3oa 


CLASSIFICATION    OF 

Extra  Best  Chops 

Price 
Taels. 

Spinning  Girls  No.  1 225 

White  Dble  Elephant  No.  1  222^ 

Sun  Pagoda  No.  1 

Japanese  Woman   No.   1.. 

Black  Pagoda  No.  1 " 

Yifong  Gold  Dble  Dragon 

No.  1 " 

Gold  Bell " 

Black  Monkey   No.    1 " 

Gold   Bat   No.    1 220 

Black  Dble   Magpie  No.   1      " 
Black  Cowboy  No.  1...... 

Black  Fish  Bowl  No.  1 ....      " 

Mowtai  Peony  No.  1 

Gold  Flying  Fish  No.  1..  217^ 

Black  Leopard  No.  1 " 

American   &   Chinese   Flag 

No.  1 " 

Black  Pony  No.  1 " 

Boy  &  Umbrella  No.  1 ....      " 

Eighteen  Boys  No.  1 215 

Seven  Stars  &  Dragon  No. 

1    " 

Double   Horse   No.   1 " 

Three  Stars  No.  1 " 

Airship  No.  1 

Gold  Unicorn  No.  1 " 

Sun  No.  1 " 

Commercial    Flag " 

Mitsui  Bussan  Kaisha  No.  1      " 


FILATURE   TUSSAHS. 

Best  Chops 

Spinning  Girls  No.  2  ...... 

White  Dble  Elephant  No  2 
Sun  Pagoda  No.  2  ........ 

Japanese  Woman  No.  2... 
Black  Pagoda  No.  2  ...... 

Yifong  Gold  Dble  Dragon 

No.  2  ................... 

Silver  Bell  ................ 

Black   Monkey  No.  2  ..... 

Gold  Bat  No.  2  ........... 

Black  Dble   Magpie   No.  2 
Black   Cowboy  No.  2  ..... 

Black   Fish    Bowl   No.   2.. 
Mowtai  Peony  No.  2  ...... 

Gold   Flying  Fish  No.  2.. 
Black    Leopard    No.   2  ____ 

American   &  Chinese   Flag 

No.  2  ................... 

Black  Pony  No.  2  ........ 

Boy  &  Umbrella  No.  2... 
Eighteen  Boys  No.  2  ..... 

Seven  Stars  &  Dragon  No. 

2    ...................... 

Double  Horse  No.  2  ...... 

Three  Stars  No.  2  ........ 

Gold  Unicorn  No.  2  ...... 

Airship   No.   2  ............ 

Gold    Toad  ............... 

Sun  No.  2..  .............. 

Mitsui  Bussen  Kaisha  No.  2 
Gold  Woman  ............. 

Wong  Lei  Soo  ............ 

Dble  Men  &  Globe  ........ 

Mandarin   Horse  .......... 

Gold    Ostrich!  ............ 

Spider    ................... 

Gold   Single    Cock  ........ 

Gold    House  .............. 

Willow  &  Dble  Swallows. 
Gold    Stork  ............... 

Gold    Heron  .............. 

Black  Dble  Swallows  ..... 

Dble   Mandarin  Duck  ..... 

Fighting  Quail  ............ 

Pluck  Cocoons  ............ 

Black  Single  Deer  ........ 

Black  Single  Goat  ........ 

Black    Zebra  .............. 

Gold  Water  Lily  .......... 


205 
202*4 


200 


195 


192^ 


IMPORTED  AND  DOMESTIC 

COTTON  YARNS 

OF  EVERY  DESCRIPTION 

For  Immediate  Delivery 


Cop  Yarns -- Carded  and  Combed 

Two-ply  Egyptian  and  Sea  Island  Yarn  for  Tie  Silk 
and  Fancy  goods. 

Three-ply  Special  Twist  Yarn  for  Moires. 

Gassed  Egyptian  Warp  Twist  Skeins. 

Filling  Yarns  for  Bengalines,  All-overs  etc. 

Polished  Yarns  on  Tubes. 

Double-spun  Single  Yarns — Tubes  and  Skeins. 

Gassed  and  prepared  Lace  Yarns. 

Velvet  Yarns  in  Skeins  and  Warps. 


"New  Procc*8 

guarantecd  against  streaky  dyeing. 


Shuttlc-C°P»;   Imported  and 
Domestic.     All  Standard  Numbers. 


JOS.  J.  DE  LONG 

Eagle  Building 

265  Fourth  Avenue  XT         xr     i 

Cor.  21st  Street  NCW    York 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  FILATURE  TUSSAHS     (Continued). 


Good  No.  1  Chops 

Gold  Single  Man 187^ 

Camelia     

Gold   Eagle " 

Gold  Snake  No.   1 185 

Black  Dble  Lion 

Green   Parrot 

Black    Flying   Horse 

Policeman    

Black  Elephant  Boy 

Fair  1  Chops 

Silver   Eagle 177^ 

Gold    Mars " 

Black  Buffalo 

Silver    Ostrich 

Balloon  No.   1 " 

Black    Cat " 

Black  Dragon  &  Tiger 

Dragon   &    Globe 175 

Silver  Woman 

Gold  Pine  &  Stork 

Silver  Single  Cock 

Silver    House 

Silver    Stork 

Citron    

Gold    Horse 

Gold    Mountain 

Gold  Single  Peach 

Black  Riding  Horse 

Black  Seven  Stars 

Red  Dble   Wild  Geese.... 

Black    Fir-tree 

Silver   Water    Lily 

Boy  &  Ladder 170 

Black  Flying  Dragon 

Silver    Incense 


Market  1  Chops 

Gold  Snake  No.  2 160 

Gold    Phoenix " 

Gold    Dollar " 

Gold  Cash " 

Gold   Lion " 

Red  Eagle 155 

Red  Woman " 

Red    Ostrich 

Balloon   No.  2 

Piano  Girl 

Pluck    Mulberry 

Piano  Boy 

Gold   Tiger 

Gold    Dble   Rabbits 

Gold   Dble    Men 

Gold    Steamboat 

Gold  Dble  Peach 

Black    Dble    Rabbits 

Gold   Crab 

Gold  Pigeon 

Red  Single  Cock 

Gold  Man  &  Dragon 

Single    Horse    Head 

Black   Dble    Goats 

Black    Locomotive 

Blue  Dble  Wild  Geese.. 


Manchester,  England. 
Crefeld  &  Barmen,  Germany. 


Fred  Sternberg  &  Co. 


530  BROADWAY, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 


Imported  ^f  Domestic 

COTTON  YARNS 

Plain 

Gassed 

Mercerized 

Glazed 

For   Knitters,  Weavers,  Braiders  and 
Lace    Makers. 

Best  Super  Combed  Sea  Island 
HARNESS    TWINES. 

We  make  a  Specialty  in  non-streaking  Mer- 
cerized Cotton  Yarns  for  Hosiery,  in  carded  or 
combed  Egyptian  or  Combed  Sea  Island,  in 
skeins  or  on  cones,  in  natural  or  fast  colors  or 
Fast  Black. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  CANTON  FILATURES 

FOR  AMERICA.     SEASON   OF   1912-1913. 
As   Made    by   Arnhold,    Karberg    &    Co.,    of    China. 

*  Stands  for  favorite  chops. 


Extra 


Chee  Chun  Wo 
Chung   Sun  Hang 
Hau  King  Lon 
*King    Seng 
Kum  Lun  Tai 
Kwong  Cheong 
Kwong  King  Wo 
Kwong  Shun  Cheong 
Kwong  Shun  Ching 

*Chung  Kee   Cheong 

*Hau   Sing   Cheong 

*Hip  Kee 
Ho  Kee 
King  Kee 

Kwong   Chow   Yuen 
Kwong   Lee   Wo 
Kwong  Wai  Hang 

*Kwong  Wo  Cheong 
Kwong  Wo  Hang 


Extra  A.  Crack  Chops. 

Kwong   Shun    Hang 
Kwong  Shun  Yun 
Kwong  Tung  Yuen 
Ming  Cheong 
Miu  King  Cheong 
*Tsung  Wai  Hang 
*Wing  Cheong   Sing 
Zebra 

Extra  Extra  A. 

*Kwong  Wo  King 

*Mee  Kee 
Miu    King 
Miu    King    Yuen 
Sai   Sill   Lun 
Tack  Cheong  Lun 
Teen   Kee 
Wing  Hang 
Wing  Lun 


Extra  Extra  B. 


Ah  Chow 
*Cheong  Hing 

Cheong    Seng 

Cheung  Lun 

Chung  Chen 
*Chung    Hing    Tai 
*Chung  Hung  Sun 
*Double  Star 

Fei  Loong 
*Gold  Horse 

Hau   King 
*Hau  King  Shun 
*Hau  King  Sing 

Hau  Lun 

Hau  Sie  Lun 

Kam  Chung 

King  Lun  Yuen 
*King  Sing   (Gold 
Dragon). 

King  Wo 

Koun  King  Lun 
*Kum  Wa  Lun 

Kun   Wa   Lun 

Kwang  Sun  On 

Kwong  Hang 

Kwong  Ho 
*Kwong  Lun   Hing 


Kwong  Seng 

Kwong  Sing  Hing 

Kwong  Wo  Lun 

Kwong  Wo    On 

Kwong  Yuen  Tung 
*Kwong  Yuen   Hang 
*Lun  King 
*Ming  Kee 

Ming   Lun 
*Ming  Tack 

Miu  Ching  Lon 

Miu  King  Lon 

Miu  Lon  King 

Miu  Lun  Hing 

Miu   Sie   Lun 

Miu  Ying  Lun 
*Pak  Shiu  Hau  King 
*Po  Seng 

Po  Tien  Hang 
*Quang  Wo  Hing 

Red  Elephant 

Shing  King  Lun 

Shoi  Him  Wo 

Shun  Kee 
*Shun   King 

Soey  Cheung 

Sui   King  Lun 


*Tack   Cheong   Sing 

Tack    Kee 
*Tien  Po  Hang 

Tung  Cheong  Sing 

Tung  Shing  Lun  (Pea- 
cock). 

*Tung  Wo  Cheong 
*Tung  Yuen 

Wai  Yuen 

Wen   Sing  Cheong 

Wing  Ching  Cheong 
(Star).  ; 

Wing  Ching  Cheong 

(Unicorn). 
*Wing  Hing  Lun 

Wing  King  Lun 

Wing  Kut  Cheong 
*Wing  Shing  Lun 

Wing  Shun  Hang 

Wing  Wo   Lun 

Yi  Tai  Li 
*Yu  King 

Yu   King   Lun 

Yu  Loong  Hing 

Yu  Wo  Cheong 
*Yuen    King 

Yuk  Wo  Hing 


35a 


Jerome  C.  Read,  President 

Henry  S.  Park,  Secretary  and  Treasurer 


The  Read  &  Lovatt 
Manufacturing  Co. 


COMMISSION 


THROWSTERS 


NEW  YORK  OFFICE 

Emmet    Building 
95  Madison  Ave.   Corner  2gth  St. 

MILLS 

Weatherly,  Pa.,  Palmerton,  Pa.  and  Elmira,  N.  Y, 


CLASSIFICATION    OF   CANTON    FILATURES    (Continued). 

*  Stands  for  favorite  chops. 
Extra  A. 


*Chee  Hing  Lun 

Ching  Wo  Hang 

Fook  Lun  Cheong 

Hau  Lun  Hing 
*Hip  Lee  Wo 

Kai  Lun  Cheong 
*King  Sing  (Gold  Lion) 

King  Cheong 

Kum   King  Wo 

Kum   Sing  Lun 

Kwong  Cheong  Sing 

Kwong  Hing 

Kwong  Shun  Tai 

Kwong  Tai 

Kwong  Tai  Lun 

Kwong  Wo  Ching 
*Kwong  Wo  Loong 
*Leun  Fat  Cheong 

Miu   Cheong 
*Miu  Lun 

Miu  Wo   Cheong 
"'Nam  Lun 

Nam  Seng 

Choi  King  Lun 
Fook  Kee 
Kwong  Lee 
Leun  Seng 
Man  Yu  Ye 
Mee  Lee  Sang 
Meen  Chee   Cheong 
Min  Tai  Cheong 

Fou  Kai  Sang 
Kum  Cheong 
Sai  Cheong  Lun 

Kum  Lun  Cheong 
Lee  Hing  Loong 

Hing  Lun 
King  Yuen 
•Mei  Lun 
Quan  Wo   Hing 


Chee  Cheung 

Po  Kee 

Po  King  Loong 


On  Wo  Hing 
Sui  Lun 

Tack    Lun     Sing     (Green     Ele- 
phant) 
Tai  Lee 
Tung  Wing 
Wah  Lun  Cheong 
Wing  Chan 
Wing  Cheong 
Wing  Cheong  Ching 
Wing  Cheong  Hang 
Wing  Cheong  Hing 
Wing  Cheong  Lun 
Wing  Cheong  Yuen 
Wing  Ching  Wo 
Wing  Hung  Cheong 
Wing  King  Cheong 
Wing  King  Yuen 
Wing  On  Lun 
Yip  Cheong 
Yut  Tung  Cheong 
Yut   Tung  Yuen 

Extra  B. 

Miu  Yu  Ye 
Tak  Cheong 
U   Hau   Cheong 
Wai   King  Wo 
Wing  Ke  Cheong 
Wing  Lee  Ching 
Yee  Wo  Cheong 
Yu  Ye  Cheong 
No.  I. 

Shiu   King  Wo 
Wing  Shing  Cheung 

No.  II. 

Quan    Kee 
Sui  Lun  Hing 
No.  Ill  a. 

Sing  Cheong 
Soey  Kee 
Soey  Wo  Cheong 
Yee  Wo  Hing 
Yee  Wo  Lun 
No.  Ill  b. 

Tack  Wo  Hing 
Yan  Kee 
Yan  Loong 
Yuen  Cheong 


37* 


H.  F.  HOFER  &  CO. 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 


THROWN  SILKS 


GENERAL  OFFICE 
ROMAINE   BUILDING 

ROOMS  306-10 

PATERSON,  N.  J. 


NEW  YORK  OFFICE 
260  WEST  BROADWAY 


Scran  ton,  Pa. 
Punxsutawney,  Pa. 
Paterson,  N.  J. 
Haledon,  N.  J. 


MILLS 


•  High  Grade  Organzines 

•  Medium  Grade  Organzines 

•  Coarse  Size  Organzines 

•  Hosiery  Tram 


Middletown,  N.  Y.     -    Crepe  Twists 
Oxford  Furnace,  N.  J.  -    Sundry  Trams 


It  has  always  been  our  principle  to  call  our 
patrons'  attention  to  the  necessity  of  ascer- 
taining values  according  to  conditions  of  the 
merchandise  and  not  purely  upon  price.  Price 
without  a  clear  definition  as  tcr  the  condition  of 
silk  is  as  problematical  as  the  price  for  gold 
without  knowing  the  fineness  in  karats. 
We  offer  our  patrons  a  full  guarantee  for  value 
for  any  transaction  in  silk  yarns  and  such  guar- 
antee is  embodied  in  our  selling  method,  the 
"100%  Basis". 


UNIVERSAL 
THROWING  CO. 


INCORPORATED 

CAPITAL,  $50,000 


Tram,  Artificial  Silk, 
Organzine. 


SLATER  ST.  MILLS 

96  Dale  Avenue,  Paterson,  N.  J. 

Telephone  2013 


39* 


VALENTINE  BLISS,  Pres.  &  Treas.,  8,  R.  BLISS,  Sec.  &  Gen  7  Mgr, 

H.  A.  FORBES,  Representative,  Paterson,  N.  J.fc        — 


THE  BLISS 
SILK   THROWING^CO. 

COMMISSION  SILK  THROWSTERS 


Silk  Throwsters  on  commission  only.  Over  thirty-five 
years  experience  with  Tussahs,  Organzines  and  Trams 
of  every  nature. 

Our  product  and  plants  second  to  none;  the  very  latest 
type  of  machinery,  and  the  Firm  behind  its  work.^ 


Main   Office:    Dickson   City,  Pa. 


MILLS  AT 

Dickson  City,  Pa.  North   Scranton,    Pa. 

Jessup,  Pa.  South  Dickson,  Pa. 


4Oa 


CLASSIFICATION    OF    STANDARD    CHOPS    OF    JAPAN 

FILATURES, 
As   Arranged  by   Villa,   Stearns  Co.,   of   New   York. 


Kawano,  Gold  Turtle 


Saninseishi,  Armour 
Hodono,  Dancing  Girl 
Tase,  Chrysanthemum 

Kazama,  Gold  Buddha 
Hirata,  Wrestler 
Konishi,  3  Cocoons 

Shiroishi,  Gold  Drum 
Yoneya,  1  Stork 
Hiugaseishi,  Sunflower 


»  Ducks 

Yawafa,  2  Doves 
Noro,  reaches 

Best  No. 

Hikamikyodo,  Gold  Chestnuts 
Koshiuseishi,   Helmet 
Hakuosha,  Iris 


Hakureisha,  Gold  Fan 
Tome,  Gold  Rat 
Hamanasha,  Samourai 

Yamajiugumi,  Gold  Star 
Ozawagumi,  Medal 
Oguchi,  Gold  O 


Motorokkosha,  Crown 
Kubotakan,  1  Man    . 
Matsuo,  Fan 

Goshukan,  G.  S. 
Inamura,  Sun 
Shunmeisha,  Gold  Bird 

Hisakata,  Feather  Garment 
Oguchigumi,  Moon 
Maruichi,  Pen 


KANSAI. 

Special  Grand  Extra. 

Sano,  Factory 
Yonago,  3  Rice  Bales 
Double  Extra  A. 

Gunge,  Pheasant 
Hasegawa,  Picture 
Ryou,  map 
Double  Extra  B. 

Tounkan,  Gold  Ducks 
Niwa,    Diamond 
Watarae,  Gold  Chickens 
Best  Extra. 

Chubi,  Rising  Sun 
Kagoshima,  Stork 
Obama,  Kingfisher 
Extra. 

Koseisha,  Cherry 
Yajima,  8  Arrows 
Nansogumi,  Gold  Samourai 
1  to  Extra. 

Mitsubishi,  Gold  Crest 
Tajimakyodo,  Gold  Cocoon 
Amada,   Gold  Eagle 
Best  No.  1. 

Hosansha,  Gold  Peony 
Aratani,  Stork 
Tankosha,  Rabbit 
No.  1. 

Hayashigumi,    Cup 
Abiko,  Gun 
Kaikokukan,  K.  H. 


SHINSHIU 

Special  Extra. 

Takagikau,  Gun 

Extra. 

Rokumonsen,  6  Gold  Coins 
Shojokan,  Gold  Eboshi 
Kumashiro,   Mask 
Best  No.  1. 

Fusokan,  Seal  . 
Yodasha,  Y.  D. 
Tenriusha,  Parrot. 

No.  1. 

Katakura,  Gold  Ring 
Onosha,  Buddha 
Komatsu,  Pine  Tree 


4ia 


Commission    Silk  Throwsters 


26,000  SPINNING  SPINDLES 
MODERN   MACHINERY 


i^entury  1  hrowing 

P.  R.  RO WSON,  Pre«.  ALEX.  McLANE,  Secy.  &  Treas. 


Organzine,   Tram, 

and 
Special    Work. 

MILLS 

Lansford,  Pa.    Hudson,  Pa. 
OFFICE 

United  Bank  Building 

152  Market  Street  Paterson,  N.  J, 

TELEPHONE,  584  PATERSON 


423 


CLASSIFICATION    OF    STANDARD    CHOPS    OF    JAPANESE 

RE-REELS. 

Extra. 

Usuisha,  Princess  Kanrasha,   Shake  Hands 

Shimonita,  Iron  Wheel 

Best  No.  1. 
Kaishinsha,  Chrysanthemum 

No.  1. 

Usuisha,  5  Girls  Shimonita,  1  Peach 

Kanrasha,  Red  Characters  Ryoseisha,  R.  S. 

NO.  \—\y4. 

Kaishinsha,  Palace 

No.  \—\Y2. 

Kosuisha,  Sun  &  Turtle  Tsurumigawa,  Gold  Stork 

Tokohusha,  Biwa  Yamada,  Gold  God 

Zenshinsha,  Gold  Headgear 

NO.  \y2. 

Usuisha,  2  Girls  Kanrasha,  Gold  Coin 

Usuisha  Deer  (Coarse)  Shimonita,  2  Peaches 

Kanrasha,  K.  R.   (Coarse)  Kaishinsha,  Gold  Lily 

Tsurumigawa,  Round  Stork 

No.  \y2—2. 

Usuisha,  Gold  Maple  Kosuisha,   Pine   Tree 

Usuisha,  Red  Maple  Kosuisha,  1  Stork 

Kanrasha,  Silver  Characters  Ryoseisha,   Red   Maple 

Shimonita,  3  Peaches  Tokohusha,  Chrysanthemum 

Shimonita,   Gold  Letters  Yamada,  Tortoise 

Zenshinsha,  Silver  Headgear 

No.  2. 

Kosuisha,  2  Storks  Shimonita,  Silver  Letters 

Kaishinsha,   Silver  Lily  Tokohusha,  Chickens 

No.  2—2y2. 
Usuisha,  Silver  Maple  Zenshinsha,      Gold      Chrysanthe- 


43* 


Nemoloton 

Montour 

Colonial 

Pcquot 

Seminole 

Nain-trah 

Herndon 

Ontario 


Mills 


Commission 
Throwsters 


General  Office:    DANVILLE,  PA. 
New  York  Office:  95  Madi.on  Ave. 


THEA.G.TURNERCO 

5      WILLIM ANTIC, CONN. 

COMMISSION  THROWSTERS  ^ 

OrganzinE.Tram.Fringe.Floss  andTwist 
QUILLING  A  SPECIALTY.    > 


CHARLES  E.  DAVIS  FRANK   L.  DAVIS 

PRES.   &  GCNL.   MANAGER  TREAS.  &   SUPERINTENDENT 


Victoria 
Silk  Company 

INCORPORATED   1902 

TAYLOR,  PENN. 


COMMISSION 
THROWSTERS 


30,000  Spindles 

Organzine,  Tram  and  Crepe  de  Chine  Twist 
,  ORGANZINE   AND   TRAM   A   SPECIALTY 


46a 


Cor.  18th  St.  and  4th  Ave.  Telephone,  Oramercy  6174 

VILLA,  STEARNS  COMPANY 

221-227     FOURTH    AVENUE 
NEW    YORK 

IMPORTERS 

European   and  Asiatic    Raw   Silk 
Thrown    and   Dyed   Silks    for   all   Purposes 


BRANCH  OFFICES 
PHILADELPHIA    AND    PROVIDENCE 


Cor.  18th  St.  and  4th  Ave.  Telephone,  Qramercy  6174 

KLOTS  THROWING  COMPANY 
COMMISSION  THROWSTERS 

221-227     FOURTH     AVENUE 
NEW    YORK 

MILLS  AT: 

Scranton,  Cumberland, 
Carbondale,  Lonaconing,  Md. 

Archbald, 

and  Forest  City,  Pa.  Fredericksburg,  Va. 


SOME  JAPANESE  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

Weights. 

*1  Momme  (commercial)  =  .  13228  oz. 
10  =  1  Tael  =  about  \%  oz. 

*160  =1  Kin=(exact)  1.3251  Ibs. 

=(commercial)  1.32277  Ibs. 
1000  =  1  Kwan  =(exact)  8.2817  Ibs. 

=r(commercial)  8.26733  Ibs. 
20  Taels  =  1  Catty  =  about  1%  Ibs. 
80  Catties  =  1  Picul  =  about  133^  Ibs. 

*  The  Momme  and  Kin  are  figured,  commercially,  on  the  basis  of 
1.32275  Ibs.  weight  for  the  Kin,  as,  at  that  weight,  756  Kin  equal  1000 
Ibs. 

Quotations  on  Japan  silks  are  in  Yen  per  100  Kin  (132.277  Ibs.). 

Coinage. 

Based  on  the  Yen,  valued  at  49.842  cents. 
Gold  20  Yen  Value  in  U.  S.  money,  $9.9689 


10 

«  r         « 

Silver  50  Sen 

20 

"  10 
Nickel  5 
Bronze  1 


(5  Rin) 


4.9844 
2.4921 
.2492 
.0996 
.0498 
.0249 
.0050 
.0025 


Lines 
Inches 

Feet 
Yards 


Linear  Measures. 

1  Bu  =    1.4317 

1  Sun  =    1.1931 

10  Sun  — 1   Shaku=11.9305 

6  Shaku  =  l  Ken=    5.965 

10  Shaku=l  Jio   =    3.3140 

1  Ri  =    2.44030  Miles 

1  Ri   (marine)       =    1.15152      " 

Square  Measures. 

1  Tsubo  =        3.95369  Sq.  Yds. 

30Tsubo  =  lSe=    118.615        "      " 
10  Se  =  l  Tan     '=1186.15 
10  Tan  =  l  Cho  =        2.45064  Acres 

1  Square  Ri  5.95505  Sq.  Miles 

Dry  Measures. 

1  Go  =    .0205     Pecks 

10'Go  =  l  Sho  =  .2048 
10  Sho  =  l  To  =2.0476 
10  To  =  l  Koku=5.11902  Bushels 

Liquid  Measures. 
1  Go  =      .04765  Gals. 

10  Go  =  1  Sho    =      .4765 
10  Sho  =  l  To    =    4.765 
10  Tp  =  l  Koku  =  47.65 

Shipping  Tonnage  Measure. 
1   Koku  =  Mo  Ton 


Emmerich-Dolson  Co. 

215  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York 

Manufacturers  ol 

Thrown  Silk  Yarns 

Hosiery   Tram   a   Specialty 

Dyed  Silks  for  Electrical, 

Woollen    Mill   and  Knitting 

Purposes 

Spun  Silk  Yarns  Supplied 
In  All  Forms 


MILLS— Wyandotte  Silk  Mills 

South  Bethlehem,  Pa.        Slatington,  Pa. 

BRANCH   OFFICES— Citizens  Trust  Bldg. 
4th  &  Market  Sts.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

49  Hamilton  St.,  Paterson,  N. . J. 
Telephone 


5oa 


SOME    CHINESE    WEIGHTS    AND    MEASURES. 

Weights. 

1  Mace  =  581/£  grains,  av. 
*10       "    =1  Tael,  or  Leang  =  l%  oz.,  av. 
16  Taels,  or  Leangs  =  l  Chiu,  or  Catty,  or  Kin  (Hong  Kong  Wgt.) 

—  1%  Ibs. 

30  Catties  =  1  Behar  =  40  Ibs. 
100  "  =1  Picul=133%lbs. 
120  "  =1  Shih  =  1601bs. 

*  The  weight  of  the  Tael  varies  from  place  to  place.     In  the  cus- 
toms treaties  it  has  been  fixed  at  1%  oz.,  av.    For  transactions  in  silver, 
the  ounce  prices  are  quoted  in  Troy  Weight  (480  grains),  while  the 
prices  for  silk  are  given  in  Taels  of  1%  oz.,  av.,  of  437^  grains  each. 
Quotations  on  China  silks  are  in  Taels  per  Picul,  of  133%  Ibs. 

Liquid  Measures. 

1  Sheng  =  2.176  Pints,  (U.  S.) 

10       "      =  1  Tou  =  2.72  Gals.  (U.  S.) 
5%  Tou  =  lHu  =  15  gals.  (U.  S.) 

2  Hu  =  l  Tan  =  30  Gals.  (U.  S.) 

Linear  Measures. 
1  Tf  sun  =  1.41  in. 
*10      "      =1   Ch'ih  =  14.1  in. 
56      "      =  lKung  =  78.96  in. 
5  Ch'ih  =  l  Pu  =  70.5  in. 
360  Pu  =  l  Li  =  .40057  miles. 
10  Li  =  l  Tang  Sun  =  4.0057  miles. 
25    "  =1  Tu  =  100.142  miles. 

*  The  length  of  the  Ch'ih,  and  the    other    measures    dependent    on 
it  varies,  from  district  to  district,  between  11  in.  and  15.8  in.     In  the 
customs  treaties  it  has  been  fixed  at  14.1  in. 

Dry  Measure. 
1  Picki  =  3.22  Bushels  (U.  S.) 

Coinage. 

Until  recently,  the  only  Chinese  coin  was  the  brass  cash  (60% 
copper  and  40%  zinc),  with  a  square  hole  in  the  centre.  These  were 
put  1,000  on  a  string.  The  value  of  the  cash  (tong-tsien)  is  about 
%o  of  a  cent. 

Accounts  are  kept  in  cash,  mace,  candareens,  and  taels,  these  three 
latter  being  simply  weights  of  silver.  The  values  are  nominally  as 
follows: 

10  cash  =  1  candareen     =     5.83  grains  silver 
10  candareens  =  1  mace  =   58.33       "          " 
10  mace  =  l  tael  =583.33 

\%  oz.  av.  silver. 

Since  1890  China  has  coined  silver  dollars  and  subsidiary  pieces. 
The  weight  of  the  dollar  is  .72  of  the  tael. 

The  new  Chinese  coinage  includes  the  yuan,  or  dollar,  containing 
414.4528  grains  of  pure  silver,  having  a  value  (at  prices  of  silver  for 
last  quarter  of  1911)  of  .4772  cents,  and  there  are  subsidiary  pieces  of 
y2,  l/4,  and  Mo  yuan. 

There  is  also  a  nickel  coin  of  5  cents,  or  %oo  yuan,  and  copper 
coins  of  2  cents,  1  cent,  5  mills,  and  1  mill,  all  stated  in  fractions  of 
the  yuan,  the  1  mill  being  but  M.OOO  yuan,  or  about  ^o  cent,  U.  S.  gold, 
thus  equalling  the  value  of  the  cash. 


s 


u 
=1    ° 

H      Q. 


1°J, 


*:: 

u   u   * 

HI 

00* 


« 


53* 


200 
300 
400 

2-Thread 

Skeins  15,000 

Yards 
Yards 
Yards 

Skeins  10,000 

Skeins  7500 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

tbs.  Ozs 

Drams 

Deniers 

18  00 

1  5* 

26  75 

2101.'.    . 

1  79  

31.30 

18  01 

1  54 

26  85 

21.02  

21  03 

1.79H-- 
1  80 

31.40 
.  .      31  49 

18.02... 
18  03    . 

1.5454.... 
1.55  

....26.94 
27.03 

21.04  
21.05  
21  06 

l.SO1^.. 
1.81.... 
.     1  82 

31.58 
31.68 
.    .   31  77 

IS.  04..  . 

1.555^  

27.12 

IS  05 

1  56 

27  22 

18.06... 
18  07.  .  . 

1.5654  
1.57  

27.31 
.  .    .27.40 

21.07  
21.08  
21.09  
21  10      . 

1.8254.. 

1.83  
1.8354.. 
1  84 

31.86 
31.95 
32.05 
32  14 

18.08... 
18.09... 
18.10... 
IS  1  1 

1.5754..,. 
1.58  
1.5854.... 
1  59 

....27.50 
27.59 
27.68 
27  77 

21.11  
21  12 

1.8454.. 
1  85 

32.23 
3232 

1812 

1.5954  

27.87 

21.13  
21  14 

1.8554.. 
1  86.  .  .  . 

32.42 
.  3251 

IS  13 

1  60 

27  96 

18.14... 
IS  15 

1.60J4-... 
1  61 

28.05 
28  15 

21.15  
29  00.  .  . 

1.86l/2.. 
1.87.... 

32.60 
32.70 

19  00 

1.62  

28.24 

22.01  
22.02  
22.03  

22.04.    . 

1.8754.. 
1.88  
.......1.8854.. 
1  89  

32.79 
32.88 
32.98 
33.07 

19.01... 
19  02 

1.6254  
1  63 

28.33 
28  42 

19.03... 
19.04... 
19.05... 
19  06 

1.6354.... 
1.64  
1.6454  
1  65 

28.52 
....28.61 
....28.70 

28  80 

22.05  
22  06 

1.8954.. 
1  90 

33.16 
3326 

22K)7  
22  08  .    . 

1.9054.. 

1  91.  .  .  . 

33.35 
3344 

19  07 

1  65T/4 

28  89 

19  OS 

1  66 

28  98 

22  09 

1  92   . 

.3353 

19.09... 
19.10.  .  . 

1.6654  

1  67    

29.07 
29  17 

22.10  
22.11.... 
22.12  
22.13  
22.14  
22.15  
23.00.... 
23.01  
23.02  
23.03  
23.04;... 
23  05 

1.92^.. 
1.93.... 
1.9354.. 
1.94  
1.9454.. 
1.95  
1.9554.. 
1.96..., 
1.9654.. 
1.97  
1.975^.. 
1  98  .  . 

33.63 
33.72 
33.81 
..33.93 
34.00 
34.09 
34.18 
34.28 
34.37 
34.46 
34.56 
..      .   3465 

19.11.  .. 

29  26 

19.12... 
19.13... 
19.14..  . 

1.68  
1.6854.... 
1  69 

29.35 
....29.45 
29  54 

19.15..  . 
20  00 

1.6954-..  . 
1  70 

....29.63 
99  72 

20.01... 
2002.  .. 

1.7054.... 

1  71 

29.82 
29  91 

20.03... 

1  72  

30  00 

20.04... 
20.05.  .  . 

1.7254  
1  73 

30.10 
30  19 

23.06  
2307..    . 

1.9854.. 
1.99  

34.74 
34.83 

20.06... 
20  07      . 

1.73J4  
1  74    . 

30.28 
30  38 

23.08  
23.09  
23.10  
23.11... 
23.13  
23.13  
23.14  
23.15... 
24.00  

1.9954.. 
2.00.... 
2.0054.. 
2.01.... 
2.02  
2.02  T/4.. 
2.03  
2.0354.. 
2.04  

34.93 
35.02 
35.11 
35.21 
35.3(T 
35.39 
35.48 
35.58 
35.6-7 

20.08  .  .  . 
2009.  .. 

1.74^4.... 
1  75  

30.47 
30  56 

20.10... 
20.11... 
20.12..  . 
20  13 

1.7554.... 
1.76  
1.7654  

30.65 
30.75 
30.84 

20.14.  . 
20  15 

1.7754  

1  78 

31.03 
31  12 

21.00... 

1.7854.... 

....31.21 

Table 

prepared  by  Mr.   H.   F. 

Hofer. 

H 

u,    z.   Z 

»H 

u    2    H 

!  15  2 

I*! 


U. 


5) 


82 


gs 

®   >• 


Z    ^ 

Z  o: 
O  f~ 
In  <A 

Q!  Q- 
U  U 

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DC 
U 


55a 


P.  B.  McMANUS,  Pres.  and  Treas.  JOHN  McMANUS,   Vice-Pre:,. 

E.  J.  McCAUGHEY,  Secy  and  Mgr. 


HOME  BLEACH  AND  DYE  WORKS 


INCORPORATED 


Dyers,  Bleachers,   and  Mercerizers   of 
Cotton    Yarns — in     Skein    and    Warp 

Clean    and    Bloomy     FAST     BLACK    for 
Silk  Goods — the  Deep   Blue  Tone   Desired 

«I  Pure  Bleaching  for  Piece  Dye  Work. 
(f  Fancy  Colors  Dyed  to  Match  Samples.  Special  Finish. 
<I  Special   Dyeing   of   Cotton    Yarns    for    Bengalines, 
Ottomans,  Moires,  Chrystal  Reds,  Epingles,  and  Corded 
Weaves  in  Blacks  and  Colors, 


ESTABLISHED  1881 

HIGHEST  QUALITY  OF  MERCERIZING 

CAPACITY— 40,000  POUNDS  PER  DAY 

Office  and   Works  at  Pawtucket,  Rhode  Island 


320 
or  160 

2-Thread 

Skeins  10,000 

Yards 
Yards 

Skeins.                   20000 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

18.08  
18.09  
18.10  
18.11  
18  12 

1.48  
1.48*4.... 
1.49  
1.49*4.... 
1  50 

25.78 
....25.86 
25.95 
....26.04 
26  13 

21  05  

1.70*4. 

29.70 

21  06 

1  71    . 

29.78 

21.07  
21  08 

1.7154. 
1  72 

28.87 
2996 

21.09  
21  10 

1.7254. 
1  73  .  .  . 

30.04 
30.13 

18.13.... 
18  14 

1.50*4.... 
...       1  51 

....26.21 
26  30 

21.11..... 
21  12 

1.73^. 
1  74 

30.22 
30.31 

18.15  
1900  . 

1.5154.... 

1  52 

....2&39 
26  47 

21.13  
21  14 

1.7454. 
1  75.  . 

30.39 
30.48 

19.01  
19.02  
19.03.... 
19.04.... 
19.05.... 
19  06 

1.5254.... 
1.53  
1.53*4.... 
1.54  
1.54*4.... 
.  4  1.55  

26.56 
26.65 
....26.73 
26.82 
....26.91 
27.00 

21.15  
22  00 

1.7554. 
1  76 

30.57 
.  .      .   30  65 

22  01 

30.74 

22.02  
22.03  
2204  . 

1.77.  .. 
1.7754. 
1.78... 

30.83 
30.92 
31.00 

19.07  .... 
1908  

1.55*4.... 
1.56  

27.09 
27.17 

22.05  
2206  . 

1.78*4. 
1.79.  .  . 

31.09 
31.18 

19.09  
19.10  

1.5654.... 
1.57  

27.26 
27  34 

22.07  
22  08 

1.79*4. 
.    ...  1  80.  .. 

31.26 
31.35 

19.11.... 
19.12  

1.5754.... 
1  58  

27.43 
27  52 

22.09  
22.10  
22.11  
22.12  
22.13  
22.14  
22.15  
23.00  
23.01  
23.02  
23.03  
23  04  . 

1.8054. 

.1.81... 
1.81*4. 
1.82... 
1.8254. 
1.83... 
1.83*4. 
1.84... 
......1.84*4. 
......1.85... 
1.8554. 
1.86... 

31.44 
31.53 
31.61 
31.70 
31.79 
31.87 
31.96 
32.05 
32.13 
32.22 
32.31 
32.40 

19.13.... 
19  14  

1.5854.... 
1  59  

....27.61 
27  69 

19.15.... 
2000..  .. 

1.59J4.... 

27.78 
..    .2782 

20.01.... 
20.02  
20.03  
20.04  

1.6054.... 

1.61  

1.6154.... 

1  62  

27.95 
....28.04 
....28.13 
.  .  .   28  22 

20.05  
20.06...-. 
20.07  
20.08  

1.6254.... 

1.63  
1.6354.... 
1  64  

....28.30 
....28.39 
28.48 
.   28  56 

23.05  
23  06 

1.8654- 
1  87 

32.48 
32.57 

20.09  
20.10  

1.6454.... 
165  

....28.65 

.  .     28  74 

23.07  
23  08 

1.87*4. 
1  88   .  . 

32.66 
32.74 

20.11  
20.12  
20.13.... 
20.14.... 
20.15  
21.00.... 
21.01.... 
21  02  .  . 

1.65*4.... 
1.66  
1.66*4.... 
1.67  
1.67*4.... 
1.68  
1.68*4.... 
..    ..169  

....28.83 
....28.91 
....29.00 
....20.09 
....29.17 
....29.26 
....29.35 
.    ..2943 

23.09  
23.10..... 
23  11 

1.88*4. 
1.89... 

32.83 
32.92 
33.01 

23  12 

1  90     . 

33.09 

23.13  
23  14 

1.90*2\ 
1  91    .  . 

33.18 
33.27. 

23.15  
24  00  

1.91*4. 
1  92.  .  . 

33.35 
33.44 

21.03.... 
21  04  

1.6954-... 
1.70  

....29.52 
29.61 

Table 

prepared  by  Mr.   H.   F.   Hofer. 

NATIONAL 

SILK  DYEING 

COMPANY 

Main  Office,  PATEPvSON,  NEW  JERSEY 
140  Market  Street 

New  York  Salesrooms,    60  University  Place 
Corner  of  Tenth  Street 

Skein  Silk  Dyeing 

of  every  description  for  every 
class  of  textile   manufacture 

Piece  Dyeing  and  Finishing 

All  silk  and  silk  mixed  goods 

Printing 

SURFACE    AND    WARP    PRINTING 

WORKS: 

PATERSON,  N.  J.  ALLENTOWN,  PA. 

DUNDEE  LAKE,  N.  J.  WILLIAMSPORT,  PA. 


S8a 


3-Thread 

Skeins 

Per  Bundle  240 

360 

Yards 

Per  Skein  7,500 

5,000 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Denicrs 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

15.12  

2.24  

39.02 

18.07    .  .  . 

2.62  

...45.65 

15.13  

2.25  

39.13 

18.08  

2.63  

...45.80 

15.14  

2.25  

39.25 

18.09  

2.64  

...45.95 

15."15  

2.26  

39.36 

18.10 

2  65 

46  10 

16.00  

2.27  

....39.54 

JS.ll.... 

2.66  

...46.25 

16.01  

2.28  

39.71 

18.12 

266  

46  40 

16.02  

2.29  

....39.92 

18.13.... 

2.67  

...46.56 

16.03  

2.30  

....40.04 

18.14.... 

2.68  

.  .  .46.72 

36.04  

2.31  

....40.20 

18.15...  . 

2.69  

...46.86 

16.05  

2.32  

....40.36 

19.00.... 

2.70  

...47.03 

16.06  

2.33  

....40,54 

19.01.... 

2,71  

...47.18 

36.07  

2.34  

....40.70 

19.02.... 

2.72  

...47.33 

16.08  

2.34  

....40.85 

19.03.... 

2.73  

...47.50 

16.09  

2.35  

....41.00 

19.04.... 

2.74  

...47.65 

36.10  

2.36  

....41.17 

19.05  

2.75  

...47.80 

16.11  

2.37  

....41.33 

19.06  

2.76  

...48.05 

16.12  

2.38  

....41.50 

19.07  

2.77  

;..  48.20 

16.13  

2.39  

....41.67 

19.08  

.......2.78....... 

...48.35 

16.14  

2.40  

....41.83 

19.09.... 

2.79  

...48.50 

16.15  

2.41  

....42.00 

19.10.... 

2.80  

...48.65 

17.00  

2.42  

42.16 

19.11.... 

2.80  

...48.80 

17.01  

2.43  

42.32 

19.12.... 

2.81  

...48.95 

17.02  . 

.....2.44  

....42.48 

19.13.... 

2.82  

...49.10 

17.03  

2.45  

.  .  .  .42.64 

19.14.... 

2.83  

...49.20 

17.04  

2.46  

....4294 

19.15  

2.84  

...49.30 

17.06  

2.47  

43.10 

20.00. 

2.85  

4946 

17.07  

2.48  

....43.26 

20.01  

2.86  

...49.61 

17.08  

2.49.  

.43.42 

2002 

.   237 

49  82 

17.09  

2.50  

....43.58 

20.04.  .  .  . 

2.89  

...49.97 

17.10  

2.51  

....43.74 

20.05.... 

2.90  

...50.14 

17.11  

2.52  

...,43.90 

20.06...  . 

2.90  

...50.30 

17.12  

2.52  

44.05 

20.07  

2.91  

...50.45 

17.13  

2.53  

....44.20 

20.08  

2.92  

...50.60 

17.14  

.....2.54  

....44.35 

20.09.... 

2.93  

...50.75 

17.15  

2.55  

44.49 

20.10.... 

2.94  

...50.90 

18.00  

2.56  

44.60 

20.11  

2.95  

...51.06 

18  01 

257 

44  75 

20.12  

2.96  

.  .  .51.22 

18.02  

2.58  

44.90 

20.13.... 

2.97  

...51.38 

18.03  

2.59  

45.05 

20.14  

2.98  

...51.55 

18.04  

2.60  

....45.20 

20.15.... 

2.99  

...51.72 

18.05  

2.60  

....45.35 

21.00  

3.00  

...51.89 

18.06  

2.61  

....45.50 

Table  prepared  by  Mr.  H.  F. 

Hofer. 

CO 


CCS 

O 


0 


og 


S"    Q 
^  O 

Q 

S 


- 


1    CO 

tJu 


> 

Q 


cu 


<u 


a  o 
<u  p 
>  G 

0^§ 

flj 

o  u 

.2  ti 

T3    § 
-2§ 


32 


£       Si  £ 
^      |H 

M  rf  S 1 1 

S  M    S        .2 

I  •  5 1  •  rf  1 

•S  fn    r  tvt  «c 


S 


a 


co 

W 


Q  O  2  W  P^ 

w  w  S  «  < 

P«  ffi  ^  q  w 

PH  H  <J  (k$  O 


6oa 


too 

400 

3-Thread 

Skeins                      10  00 

0  Yards 
0  Yards 

Skeins  5,00 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

17  08 

9  2-1 

39.02 

20.13... 
20.14... 
20.15... 
21.00.  .  . 
21.01... 
21,02... 
21.03... 
21.04... 
21.05... 

2.66. 
2.67. 
2.68. 
2.68. 
2.69. 
2.70. 
2.71. 
2.72. 
2.72. 

46.40 
46.54 
46.68 
46.82 
46.96 
47.00 
47.23 
47.37 
4751 

37.09  
17.10  
17.11  
17.12  
17.13  
17.14  
17.15  
18.00  
18.01  
18.02  
18.03...  
18.04  -... 
38.05  
18.06  
18.07  
18.08  
18.09  
18.10  
18.11  
18  I9 

..2.24  
..2.25  
..2.26  
..2.27  
..2.28.'.... 
..2.28  
..2.29  
..2.30  
..2.31  
..2.32  
..2.32  
..2.33  
..2.34  
..2.35  
..2.36  
..2.36  
..2.37  
..2.38  
.  .2.39  
2  40 

39.15 
30.29 
39.43 
39.57 
39.71 
.  39.85 
39.99 
40.13 
40.27 
40.41 
40.55 
40.69 
40.83 
40.97 
41.10 
41.24 
41.38 
41.52 
41.66 
41  80 

21.06.  .  . 
21.07... 
21.08... 
21.09... 
21.10... 
21.11... 
21.12... 
21.13... 
21.14... 
21.15... 
22.00... 
22.01... 
22.02... 
22.03... 
22.04... 
22.05... 
22.06... 
22.07... 
22.08... 
22.09... 
22.10... 
22.11... 
22.12... 
22.13... 
22.14... 
22.15... 
23.00... 
23.01... 
23.02... 
23.03... 
23.04... 
23.05... 
23.06... 
23.07... 
23.08... 
23.09... 
23.10... 
23.11... 
23.12... 
23.13... 
23.14... 
23.15... 
24.00... 

2.73. 
2.74. 
2.75. 
2.76. 
2.76. 
2.77. 
2.78-. 
2.79. 
2.80. 
2.80. 
2.81. 
2.82. 
2.83. 
2.84. 
2.84. 
2.85. 
2.86. 
2.87. 
2.88. 
2.88. 
2.89. 
2.90. 
2.91. 
2.92. 
2.92. 
2.93. 
2.94. 
2.95. 
2.96. 
2.96. 
2.97. 
2.98. 
2.99. 
3.00. 
3.00. 
3.01. 
3.02. 
3.03, 
3.04. 
3.04. 
3.05. 
3.06. 
3.07. 

47.65 
47.79 
47.93 
48.07 
48.21 
48.35 
48.49 
48.63 
48.77 
48.91 
49.04 
49.18 
49.32 
49.46 
49.60 
49.74 
49.88 
50.02 
50.16 
50.30 
50.44 
50.58 
50.72 
50.86 
50.99 
51.13 
51.27 
51.41 
51.55 
51.69 
5.1.83 
51.97 
52.11 
52.25 
..  ;..  52.39 
,52.53 
52.67 
52.81 
52.95 
53.08 
53.22 
53.36 
53.50 

18.13  
18  14 

..2.40  
0  41 

41.94 
42  OS 

18.15  
19  00 

..2.42  
2  43 

42.22 
42  30 

19.01  
19.02  
19  03  .  . 

..2.44  
..2.44  
..2  45 

42.50 
42.6-1 

42  78 

19.04  
19.05  
19.06  
'9.07  
19  08  

.2.46  . 
..2.47  
.2.48  
.2.48  
2  49 

42.92 
43.05 
43.19 
43.33 
43  47 

19.09  
19.10  
19.11  
19.12  
19.13  
19.14  
19.15  
20.00  
20.01  
20.02  
20.03  
20.04  
20.05  
20.06  

..2.50  . 
..2.51  
..2.52  
..2.52  
..2.53  
..2.54  
..2.55  
..2.56  
..2.56  
..2.57..    .. 
..2.58  
..2.59  
..2.60....: 
..260 

43.61 
43.75 
43.89 
44.03 
44.17 
44.31 
44.45 
44.59 
.  44.73 
44.87 
45.00 
45.14 
..    ..45.28 
45  42 

20.07  
20.08  
20.09  
20.10  
20.11  
20.12  

..2.61..... 
..2.62  
..2.63  
..2.64  
..2.64  
..2.65  

.....45.56 
45.70 
45.84 
45.98 
46.12 
46.26 

Table 

prepared  by  Mr.  H.  F. 

Hofer. 

6ia 
E  STABLISHED     187  9 

CREW'S 

Silk  Finishing  and 
Piece  Dye  Works 

ALFRED  CREW,  Proprietor 

PATERSON,    N.   J. 

Finishing. 

Tie  Silks  of  all  descriptions,  both  All-Silk  and 
Cotton  -  and  -  Silk,  in  all  widths.  Crefeld  Finish  a 
Specialty. 

All  Silk  and  Cotton-and-Silk  Linings,  Serges, 
Mervellieux,  Satins  Duchesse,  and  Cotton  -  Back 
Satins.  Especially  equipped  for  Finishing  64in.  Auto- 
Satins,  and  Tapestry  of  every  description.  Plain  and 
Fancy  Taffetas,  Chiffon  Taffetas,  Messalines,  Peau  de 
Cygne,  Peau  de  Soie,  Armures,  Failles,  Bengalines, 
Brocades,  Surahs  and  Gros  Grain. 


Piece  Dyeing  and  Finishing. 

All-Silk  and  Silk-Mixed  Goods  up  to  64  inches, 

Habutais,  Charmeuse, 
Brocade,  Satin  Brocade,  Crepe-de-Chine,  Mulls. 


Moires  of  every  Description.   Waterproofing. 

Especially  equipped  for  the  Dyeing  and  Finishing,  or 

the  Finishing  only,  of  Extra  Wide  Goods. 

All    Goods    Fully    Covered    by    Insurance. 


62a 


z 

^ 

Ou 

X 

LU 

CO 
CO 

D 

CO 


UJ    CO 

Q  -6 


UJ     U> 

H*   S^j 

CO 


H  - 

CJ  <D 

E  £ 

U-  -t* 


?a 

UJ     — 

Z 


CO 

=        ^ 

LU 

t  -s 

2P  E 
c 

CO 


UL 


s? 


8 


g  ^ 

'S 


O 

LU 

a. 

CO 


O 

Z 

D^ 

Q. 


63a 


The 

New  York  Watering 
Company 


NEW  YORK  CITY 


J.  SULZBACH,  Prop. 

ORIGINATOR 

OF   THE   RIBBON    PRINTING    MACHINE 

AND 

SINGLE  BEAM  WARP  PRINTING  FOR  RIBBONS 


WE  ARE  SPECIALISTS  IN  THE 

Dyeing  Finishing 

Printing  Embossing 

Moireing  Shirring 

-OF 

Ribbons  Chiffons  Beltings 

Silks  Elastic  Leather  Goods 

Velvets  Laces  Nets,  etc. 


Surface   and  Warp  Printing 

seft^i 

ALWAYS  A  STEP  AHEAD 


3-Thread 

300 

Skeins  7500 

Yards 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

19.10.... 

2.23  

....38.89 

21.14  

2.48... 

43.28 

19.11.... 

2.24  

....39.02 

21.15.... 

2.49.. 

43.40 

19.12.... 

2.24  

....39.13 

22.00  

2.49... 

43.52 

19.13... 

2.25  

....39.25 

22.01  

2.50... 

43.64 

19.14  

2.26  

....39.37 

22.02  

2.51... 

43.77 

19.15  

2.26  

....39.50 

22.03..... 

2.52... 

43.89 

20.00.... 

2.27  

39.62 

22.04  

2.52... 

44.01 

20.01.... 

2.28  

....39.74 

22.05  

2.53... 

44.13 

20.02.... 

2.28.  

....39.86 

22.06  

2.54... 

44.25 

20.03.... 

2.29  

....39.98 

22.07  

2.54... 

44.50 

20.04.... 

2.30  

....40.11 

22.08  

2.55... 

44.50 

20.05.... 

2.31  

....40.23 

22.09  

2.56... 

44.62 

20.06  

2.31  

40.35 

22.10  

2.57... 

44.74 

20.07.... 

2.32  

....40.47 

22.11  

2.58... 

44.86 

20.08.,.. 

2.33  

....40.59 

22.12  

2.59... 

44.99 

20.09.... 

2.33  

....40.72 

22.13  

2.60... 

45.11 

20.10.... 

2.34  

....40.84 

22.14  

2.60... 

45.23 

20.11.... 

2.35  

40.96 

22.15  

2.61... 

45.35 

20.12.  .  .  . 

2.35  

....41.08 

23.00  

2.62... 

45.85 

20.13.... 

2.36  

41.20 

23.01  

2.63... 

45.60 

20.14.... 

2.37  

....41.33 

23.02  

2.63... 

45.72 

20.15.... 

2.38  

....41.45 

23.03  

2.64... 

45.84 

21.00.  .  .  . 

2.38  

41.57 

23.04  

2.65... 

45.96 

21.01.... 

2.39  

....41.69 

23.05  

2.65... 

46.08 

21.02.... 

2.40  

41.81 

23.06  

2.66... 

46.21 

21.03.... 

i.2.40  

....41.94 

23.07  

2.67... 

46.33 

21.04.... 

2.41  

42.06 

23.08  

2.67... 

46.45 

21.05.... 

.......2.42  

....42.18 

23.09  

2.68... 

46.57 

21.06 

2.42  

4230 

23.10  

2.69... 

46.69 

21.07.... 

2.43  

....42.42 

23.11  

2.70... 

46.82 

21.08.... 

2.44  

....42.55 

23.12  

2.70... 

46.94 

21.09.... 

2.45  

42.67 

23.13..... 

2.71... 

47.06 

21.10.... 

2.45  

....42.79 

23.14  

2.72... 

47.18 

21  11 

24.fi 

49  Q1 

23.15  

2.72... 

47  30 

fj±»  j.  J.  .... 
21.12  

•  rzv)  ...... 

2.47  

....43.03 

24.00  

2.73... 

47.43 

21.13.... 

2.47  

....43.16 

Table 

prepared  by  Mr.   H.   F.   Hofer. 

Oriental 
Silk  Printing 
Company 

HALEDON,    (Paterson)    N.  J. 

Warp  and  Surface  Printing  for  Dress  Silks, 
Ribbons  and  all  classes  of  Silk  and  mixed  goods. 

Converting  plain  fabrics  to  the  most 
beautiful  Artistic  Effects. 

PIECE  DTE  ING. 


Full  information,  Samples,  Designs,  latest 
foreign  ideas,  etc.,  at  their 

NEW  YORK  OFFICE 

EMMET    BUILDING 

95  MADISON  AVE.,          Cor.  29th  St. 

New  York  Telephone,  Mad.  Sq.  9434 
Haledon  Telephone,  Paterson  3171 


66a 


3-Thread 

Skeins  Per  Bundle  240  
Yards  Per  Skein  10,000  

..    360......    480 
..7,500  5,000 

Lbs.  Oxs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

21.00  
21.01  
21.02  
21.03  
21  04  

..2.24.... 
...2.24.... 
...2.25.... 
...2.26.... 
..226  

39.02 
39.13 
39.25 
39.36 
39.48 

24.09... 
24.10.  .. 
24.11... 
24.12... 
24.13... 
24.14... 
24.15... 
25.00... 
25.01.  .  . 

2.60... 
2.61... 
2.62... 
.2.62... 
2.62... 
2.64... 
2.65... 
2.66... 
2  66  ... 

45.59 
45.70 
45.82 
45.93 
46.05 
.46.16 
46.28 
46.39 
46  50 

21  05  

2.27  

39.59 

21.06  
21.07  
21  08 

...2.28.... 
...2.28.... 
2  29 

39.71 
39.82 
39  93 

21.09  
21.10  
21.11  
21.12  
21.13  
21.14  
21.15  
22  00 

...2.30.... 
...2.30  
...2.31.... 
...2.31.... 
...2.32  
...2.33.... 
...2.33.... 
2  34 

40.04 
40.16 
40.27 
40.39 
40.50 
40.62 
40.74 
40  85 

25.02  .  .  . 
25.03... 
25.04... 
25.05.  .  . 

2.67... 
2.68... 
2.68... 
2.69... 

46.62 
46.73 
46.85 
46.97 

25.06... 
25.07... 
25.08... 
25.09.  .  . 

2.70... 
2.70... 
2.71... 
2.72.  .  . 

47.08 
47.20 
47.31 
47.43 

22.01  
22.02  
22.03  
22.04  
22.05  
22.06  
22.07  
22.08  
22.09  
22.10  
22.11  
22.12.  
22.13  
22.14  
22.15  
23.00  
23  01  

...2.35.... 
...2.35.... 
...2.36  
...2.37.... 
...2.37.... 
...2.38  
...2.39.... 
...2.39  
...2.40.... 
...2.41.... 
...2.41.... 
...2.42.... 
...2.43.... 
...2.43.... 
...2.4*.... 
.  ..2.45.  .  .  . 
.  ..246  

40.96 
41.07 
41.19 
41.42 
41.53 
41.53 
41.65 
.41.76 
41.88 
41.99 
42.10 
42.21 
42.33 
42.44 
42.56 
42.67' 
.42  79 

25.10... 
25.11... 
25.12.  .  . 
25.13... 
25.14... 
25.15... 
26.00... 
26.01... 
26.02.,. 
26.03... 
2604... 
26.05... 
26.06... 
26.07... 
26.08.  .  . 
2«.09... 
26.10... 
26.11... 
26.12... 
26.13... 
26.14... 
26.15... 
27.00  .  .  . 

2.72... 
2.73... 
2.74... 
2.75... 
..2.75... 
2.76... 
2.77... 
2.77... 
2.78... 
2.79... 
2.79... 
2.80... 
2.S1... 
2.81... 
2.82... 
2.83... 
2.84... 
2.84... 
2.85... 
2.86... 
2.87... 
2.87... 
...-.„  ...2.88.  .. 

47.55 
..47.67 
47.78 
47.90 
48.00 
48.12 
48.24 
48.35 
4S.47 
43.58 
48.69 
48.82 
48.93 
49.05 
49.17 
49.28 
49.40 
49.51 
49.63 
49.74 
49.86 
49.97 
50  08 

23.02  
23.03  
23.04  
23.05  
23.06...  
23.07  
23.08.  
23.09  
23.10  
23.11  
23.12  
23.13  
23.14  
23.15  
24.00  ... 
24.01  
24.02  
24  03 

...2.46.... 
...2.47.... 
...2.48.... 
...2.48.... 
...2.49.... 
...2.50.... 
...2.50.... 
...2.51.... 
...2.52  
...2.52.... 
...2.53.... 
...2.63... 
...2.54.... 
...2.55  
...2.56... 
...2.56.... 
...2.57... 
2  57 

42.90 
43.02 
43.14 
43.25 
43.37 
43.48 
43.60 
43.71 
43.83 
43,95 
44.07 
44.05 
44.30 
44.41 
44.50 
44.64 
44.76 
44  87 

27.01... 
27.02... 
27.03... 
27.04  .  .  . 
27.05.. 
27.06.  .  . 

2.88... 
2.89... 
2.89... 
2.90... 
.2.91.. 
2.92.  . 

..50:20 
..50.32 
50.44 
50.55 
50.67 
50  78 

27.07... 
27.08... 
27.09... 
27.10... 
27.11.. 
%;)7  12 

2.92... 
2.93.. 
2.94.. 
...  2.94.. 
2.95.. 
.    2.96.. 

50.90 
50.02 
51.13 
51.24 
51.36 
51.43 

24.04  
24.05  
?4  06 

...2.58... 
...2.58... 
o  59 

45.00 
45.12 
45  24 

27.13.. 
27.14.. 
27  15 

2.97.. 
2.97.. 
298.. 

51.60 
51.72 
51.33 

24  07  

.  .  2  59.  . 

.  .    .  .   45  36 

28.00.. 
28.01.. 

2.99.. 
3.00.. 

51.94 
52.06 

24.08  

...2.60... 

45.47 

Table 

prepared  by  Mr.   H.  F.   Hofer. 

67a 


H.  W.  BOETTGER,  President        ROBERT  WYDER,  Treas. 
RUDOLF  WYDER,  Jr.,  Vice-Pres.    ROBT.  BOETTGER,  Secy. 


Silk   Finishing 
Company 

of  America 


Finishers  of  all  kinds    of  Broad   Silks 
and  Cotton-back  Satins 

All  Styles  of  Moires 


Main  Office: 

137  Madison  Avenue 
New  York 


68a 


4-Thread 

150 

Skeins  .10,000 

Yards 

200 

Skeins  7,500 

Yards 

or  300 

Skeins  .                .  .   5  000 

Yards 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

17.08  

2.98  

52.02 

20.13  

3.56.. 

62.04 

17.09.... 

2.99  

52.21 

20.14  

3.57.. 

62.23 

17.10  

3.00  

52.40 

20.15  

3.58.. 

62.42 

17.11.... 

3.01  

52.59 

21.00  

3.59.. 

62.61 

17.13.'... 

.......3.03  

52.78 

21.01  

3.60.. 

62.80 

17.13...'. 

3.04  

52.97 

21.02  

3.61.. 

62.98 

17.14  

3.05  

53.16 

21.03  

3.62.. 

63.17 

17.15  

3.06  

53.34 

21.04  

3.63.. 

63.36 

18.00.... 

3.07  

53.53 

21.05  

3.64.. 

63.55 

18.01  

3.08  

53:72 

21.06  

3.66.. 

63.74 

18.02  

3.09  

53.91 

21.07  

3.67. 

.    .     63  93 

18.03  

3.10  

54.10 

21.08  

3.68.. 

64.12 

18.04.... 

3.11  

54.29 

21.09  

3.69.. 

64.31 

18.05 

...3  12 

.      54  48 

21.10  

3.70.  . 

..  .  .64.50 

18.06 

3.13..      . 

54  67 

21.11  

3.71.. 

64.69 

18.07 

3.14..      . 

54.86 

21.12  

3.72.. 

64.87 

18.08  

3.16/  

55.05 

21.13  

3.73.. 

65.02 

18.09  

3.17  

55.23 

21.14  

3.74.. 

65.21 

18.10 

...    3  18 

55  42 

21.15  

3.75.  . 

65.40 

18.11  

3.19  

55.61 

22.00  

3.76.. 

65.58 

18.12.... 

3.20  

55.80 

22.01  

3.78.. 

65.77 

18.13  

3.21  

55.99 

22.02  

3.79.. 

65.95 

18.14.... 

3.22  

56.18 

22.03  

3.80.. 

66.14 

18.15.... 

3.23  

56.37 

22.04  

3.81.. 

66.32 

19.00  

3.24..... 

56.56 

22.05  

3.82.. 

66.51 

19.01  

3.25  

56.75 

22.06  

3.83.. 

»  .66.70 

19.02  

3.26  

56.94 

22.07  

3.84.. 

66.88 

19.03  

,3.28  

57.12 

22.08  

3.85.. 

67.07 

19.04  

3.29  

57,31 

22.09  

3.86.. 

67.25 

19.05.... 

.  ,  3.30  

57.50 

22.10  

3.87.. 

67.44 

19.06  

3.31  

57.69 

22.11  

3.88.. 

67.62 

19.07  

..,  3.32  

57.88 

22.12  

3.89.. 

..67.81 

19.08  

3.33  

58.07 

22.13  

3.91.. 

68.00 

19.09.-.. 

3.34  

58.26 

22.14  

3,92.. 

68.18 

19.10  

,.3.35  

58.45 

22.15  

3.93.. 

.68.37 

19.11  

3.36  

58.64 

23.00  

3.94.. 

68.55 

19.12.... 

3.37  

58.83 

23.01  

......3.95.. 

68.74 

19.13.... 

3.38  

-.59.02 

23.02  

3.96.. 

68.92 

19.14  

3.39  

59.20 

23.03  

3.97.. 

69.11 

19.15  

..3.41  

59.39 

23.04  

3.98.. 

69.29 

20.00  

3.42  

59.58 

23.05  

3.99.. 

69.48 

20.01.... 

3.43  

59.77 

23.06  

4.00.. 

69.67 

20.02  

3.44  

59.96 

23.07 

4.01. 

69  85 

20.03  

3.45  

60.15 

23.08  

4.02.. 

70.04 

20.04.... 

3.46  

60.34 

23.09  

4.03.. 

70.22 

20.05.,.. 

3.47  

60.53  . 

23.10  

4.04.. 

70.41 

20.06.... 

3.48  

60.72 

23.11  

4.05.. 

70.60 

20'.07.... 

.3.49  

60.91 

23.12  

4.06.. 

70.79 

20.08  

3.50  

61.09 

23.13  

4.07.. 

70.98 

20.09  

3.51  

61.28 

23.14  

4.08.. 

71.16 

20.10  

3.53  

61.47 

23.15  

4.09.. 

71.34 

20.11  

3.54  

61.66 

24.00  

4.10.. 

71.51 

20.12.... 

...  3.55  

61.85 

Table 

prepared  by  Mr.  H.  F. 

Hofer. 

The  largest  and  most  modern 

INDEPENDENT 
SILK  FINISHING  PLANT 

in 

AMERICA 


Gus  H.  Uhlig,  Jr. 

Telephones  -j  7561  [•  Chelsea  Carl  H.  Hausmann 

T.  J.  Fitzpatrick 


SMITH  &  UHLIG 

INCORPORATED 

SILK    FINISHERS 

515-519  W.  26th  St. 
New  York 

Finishers  of  all  kinds 
of  Broad  Silks  and 
Cotton-back  Satins 

All  Goods  Insured  Against  Loss  By  Fire 


7oa 


4-Thread 

160  Skeins  10,000 

Yards 

320  Skeins  5,000 

Yards 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

18.08.... 

2.96. 

51.56 

21.05.... 

3.41.. 

59.40 

18.09.... 

;.2.97. 

51.72 

21.06  

3.42.. 

59.56 

18.10  

2.98. 

51.90 

21.07.... 

3.43.. 

59.74 

18.11. 

2.99. 

52.08 

21.08 

3.44.  . 

59  92 

18.12  

3.00. 

52.26 

21.09.... 

3.45.. 

60.08 

18.13.... 

3.01. 

52.42 

21.10.... 

.3.46.. 

60.26 

18.14.... 

3.02. 

52.60 

21.11.... 

3.47.. 

60.44 

18.15  

3.03. 

52.78 

21.12.... 

3.48.. 

60.62 

19.00.... 

3.04. 

.I  52.94 

21.13.... 

3.49.. 

60.78 

19.01.... 

3.05. 

53.12 

21.14.... 

3.50.. 

60.96 

19.02.... 

3.06. 

53.30 

21.15.... 

3.51.. 

61.14 

19.03  

3.07. 

53.46 

22.00.... 

3.52.. 

61.30 

19.04  

.3.08. 

53.64 

22.01.... 

3.53.. 

61.48 

19.05  

3.09. 

53.82 

22.02  

3.54.. 

61.70 

19.06.... 

3.10. 

54.00 

22.03  

3.55.. 

61.84 

19.07.... 

3.11. 

54.16 

22.04  

3.56.. 

62.00 

19.08.... 

3.12. 

54.34 

22.05  

3.57.. 

62.18 

19.09..... 

3A3. 

54.52 

22.06.... 

3.58.. 

62.36 

19.10  

3.14. 

54.68 

22.07 

'..3.59.  . 

62  52 

19.11  

3.15. 

54.86 

22:08 

3.60.. 

62.70 

19.  12>.  .  .  . 

3.16. 

55.04 

22.09 

.  ..3.61.  . 

..  .  .  62  88 

19.13.... 

3.17. 

55.22 

22.10.... 

3.62.. 

63.06 

19.14.... 

3.18. 

55.38 

22.11.... 

3.63.. 

63.22 

19.15  

3.19. 

55.56 

22.12.... 

3.64.. 

63.40 

20.00  

3.20. 

55.64 

22.13.... 

3.65.. 

63.58 

20.01.... 

3.21. 

....55.90 

22.14.... 

3.66.. 

63.74 

20.02.... 

3.22. 

56.08 

22.15.... 

3.67.. 

63.92 

20.03.... 

3.23. 

56.26 

23.00.... 

3.68.. 

64.10 

20.04.... 

3.24. 

56.44 

23.01  

3.69.. 

64.26 

20.05.... 

3.25. 

56.60 

23.02  

3.70.. 

64.44 

20.06.... 

3.26. 

56.78 

23.03  

3.71.. 

64.62 

20.07  

3.27. 

56.96 

23.04  

3.72.. 

64.80 

20.08  

3.28. 

57.12 

23.05.... 

3.73.. 

64.96 

20.09.... 

3.29. 

57.30 

23.06.... 

3.74.. 

65.14 

20.10.... 

3.30. 

57.48 

23.07.... 

3.75.. 

65.32 

20.11  

..3.31. 

.57.66 

23  08 

3  76.  . 

6548 

20.12  

3.32. 

57.82 

23.09 

..3.77.  . 

65.66 

20.13  

3.33. 

58.00 

23.10.... 

3.78.. 

65.84 

20.14  

3.34. 

58.18 

23.11 

3.79.  . 

66.02 

20.15.... 

3.35. 

58.34 

23.12.... 

3.80.. 

66.18 

21.00.... 

3.36. 

58.52 

23.13.... 

3.81.. 

66.36 

21.01  

3.37. 

58.70 

23.14  

3.82.. 

66.54 

21.02  

3.38. 

58.86 

23.15.... 

3.83.. 

66.70 

21.03  

3.39. 

59.04 

24.00.... 

3.84.. 

66.88 

21.04.... 

3.40. 

59.22 

Table  prepared  by  Mr.  H.  F. 

Hofer. 

WINDING 

WARPING 

QUILLING 

PRESCOTT  &  WAYWELL 

443  MARKET  ST,  PATERSON,  N.  J. 


WE  INVITE  INQUIRIES. 
WE  KEEP  ALL  GOODS  FULLY  INSURED 

Preparatory  Hlork  of  every  sort  on  Commission. 


All  kinds  of  Warping,  on  Dyed,  Raw,  or  Spun  Silks 
Warps  prepared  for  Printing,  and  crossings  woven  in 

lUarps  perfectly  made  and  thoroughly  cleaned. 

Warps  of  Extra  Length  Supplied. 
Winding  and  Quilling  arrangements  of  the  very  best. 


THE  QUALITY  OF  OUR  WORK  is  OF  THE  HIGHEST. 

OUR  CUSTOMERS  ARE  HOUSES  OF  THE  BEST  CLASS. 

OUR  BUSINESS  HAS  BEEN  LONG  ESTABLISHED. 

OUR  PRICES  ARE  MOST  MODERATE. 


LET  US  FIGURE  ON  YOUR  REQUIREMENTS 


723 


ALFRED   SUTER 


200  FIFTH  AVE.,     NEW  YORK 


\ 


1IJ 


AUTOMATIC  STRENGTH  AND 

ELASTICITY    TESTER 

FOR    YARN 


IMPORTER  OF 

BAER'S     YARN     AND 

CLOTH    TESTING 

APPARATUS 

SUCH  AS 

Direct  Yarn  Numbering  Scales 
— Reels — Evenness  Tester  s — 
Twist  Testers — Strength  Testers 
— Conditioning  Ovens  :  :  : 

REED    ENTERING 
MACHINES 


Schappe  Yarns  of  the  Fil- 
ature Lyonnaise  de 
Schappe  J.  Villard  & 
Co.,  Lyons. 


Skein,  Broad  Silk,  Ribbon  Dyeing 
and  Finishing  Machines  of 

Maison  Dussud,  Lyons 
Gebruder  Briem,  Crefeld 
Tillm.  Gerber,  Crefeld 

and  the 

Schmid  Brothers'  Silk 
Skein  and  Piece  Degum- 
ming  Machine. 


NEW  TWIST  TESTER  WITH  TAKE-UP  REGISTER  AND  MAGNIFYING  GLASS 


73* 


STORAGE  OF  SILK 

AND 

SILK  PRODUCTS 


The  only  Warehouse  in  New  York  built  es- 
pecially for  and  handling  Raw  Silk  and  Silk 
Products  exclusively. 

Lowest  Base  Rate  of  Insurance. 

Our  staff  includes  Experts  in  the  Silk  trade 
and  in  Warehouse  management. 

STORAGE 

SAMPLING 

WEIGHING 

CARTAGE 

Security  Silk  Storage  Co. 

212-214-216    SPRING    STREET 
NEW  YORK 

PHONE,    SPRING    2164-2165 

ROBERT  L.  HOQUET,  Prest.  JAS.  W.  HORTON,  Secy-Treas. 

W.  M.  P.  TAYLOR,  Asst.  Sec'y-Treas. 


4-Thread 

180  Skeins  ..                 10000 

Yards 
Yards 
Yards 

2401  Skeins      .                7  500 

360  Skeins  5  000 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

21.00..... 
21.01  
21.02  
21.03  
21.05  
21.06  
21.07  
21.08  
21.09  
21.11  
21.12  
21  13 

2.98. 
2.99. 
3.00. 
3.01. 
3.03. 
3.04. 
3.05. 
..3.06. 
3.07. 
3.08. 
3.09. 
.  3  10 

52.02 
52.21 
52.40 
52.59 
52.78 
52.97 
53.16 
53.34 
53.53 
53.72 
53.91 
54.10 

24.15  
25.01  
25.02  
25.03  
25.04  
25.05  
25.07  
25.08  
25.09  
25.10  
25.11  
25.13  
25.14  
25.15  
26.00  
26  01 

,  .3.56.. 
3.57.. 
3.58.. 
3.59.. 
3.60.. 
.3.61.. 
3.62.. 
3.63.. 
3.64.. 
3.66.. 
3.67.. 
3.68.. 
3.69.. 
3.70.. 
3.71.. 
3.72.. 

62.04 
62.23 
62.42 
62.61 
62.80 
.62.98 
63.17 
63.36 
63.55 
63.70 
63.93 
64.12 
64.31 
64.50 
64.69 
64.87 

21.14  
.21.15  
22.01  
22.02  
22.03.  
22.04  
22.05  
22.07  
22.08  
22.09  
22.10  
22.11  
22.13  
22.14  
22.15  
23  00  

3.11. 
3.12. 
3.13. 
3.14. 
3.16. 
...y.,3.17. 
3.18. 
3.19. 
3.20. 
3.21. 
3.22. 
3.23. 
3.24. 
3.25. 
3.26. 
3.28. 

54.29 
../*•  54.48 
54.67 
54.86 
55.05 
55.23 
55.42 
55.61 
55.80 
55.99 
56.18 
56.37 
56.56 
56.75 
56.94 
57.12 

26.03  

3.73.. 

65.02 

26.04  
26.05  
26.06  
26.07  
26.09  

3.74.. 
3.75.. 
.3.76.. 
3.78.. 
3  79   . 

65.21 
65.40 
65.58 
65.77 
65.95 

26.10.  
26.11  
26.12  
26.13  
26.15  
27.00  
27.01  
27.02  
27.03  
27.05  
27.06  
27  07 

3.80.. 
3.81.. 
..3.82.. 
3.83.. 
3.84.. 
3.85.. 
3.86.. 
3.87.. 
3.88.. 
3.80.. 
3.91.. 
3  92 

66.14 
66.32 
66.51 
..66.70 
.66.88 
67.07 
67.25 
67.44 
67.62 
67.81 
68.00 
68  18 

23.01..... 
23.03  
23.04  
53  05 

3.29. 
3.30. 
3.31. 
3  32 

57.31 
57.50 
57.69 

..5788 

23.06  

...    ..333. 

58\07 

23.07  

3.34. 

58.36 

23.09  

3.35. 

58.45 

27  08 

3  93 

68  37 

23  10  

3.36. 

58.64 

27.09  
27.11  
27.12  
27  13 

3.94.. 
3.95.. 
3.96.. 
3  97 

68.55 
...;  68.74 
68.92 
69  11 

23.11  
23  12 

3.37. 
3  38 

.........58.83 
.  59  02 

23.13  

3.39. 

59.20 

23.15  
24.00  
24.01  
24.02  
24.03  
24  05   .... 

3.41. 
3.42. 
......3.43. 
3.44. 
3.45. 
.346. 

59.39 
59.58 
59.77 
59.96 
60.15 
60.34 

27.14 

.   .398.  . 

69.29 

27.15.... 
28.01  

3.99.. 
4.00.. 

....  69.48 
69.67 

28.02  
28.03  
28.04  
28.05  
28.07  
28.08  
28.09  
28.10  
28.11  
28.13  

4.01.. 
4.02.. 
4.03.. 
4.04.. 
4.05.. 
4.06.. 
4.07.. 
4.08.. 
4.09.. 
4.10.. 

69.85 
70.04 
70.22 
70.41 
...70.60 
70.79 
70.98 
71.16 
71.34 
71.51 

24.06  
24.07  
24.08  
24.09  
24.11  
24.12  
24.13  
24.14  

3.47. 
3.48. 
3.49. 
3.50. 
3.51. 
3.53. 
3.54. 
3.55. 

60.53 
60.72 
60.91 
61.09 
61.28 
61.47 
61.66 
61.85 

Table  prepared  by  Mr.  H.  F. 

Hofer. 

75* 


MERCANTILE  WAREHOUSE  GO. 

Fire    Proof   Silk    Storage 

Raw    Silk    Insurance   $1.19  per    $1.000   per    Tear 


T  ttOViS     MOJPHji  1  MERCANTILE  WAREHOUSE  CO. 


421-427    GREENWICH     STREET 


Automatic  Sprinklers       Total  Supervision 


Fireproof  Warehouses 

15  Vestry  Street 
36  Laight  Street 
59-65  Laight  Street 
12-18  Hubert  Street 
415-427  Greenwich  Street 


Contract  Dept. 

421    GREENWICH   ST. 
NEW  YORK 

Weighing — Forwarding 


7Ca 


AUCTION 


Wilmerding,    Morris 
and  Mitchell 

•AUCTIONEERS 

488-490-492  BROADWAY 
NEW  YORK  CITY 

Sales  of  All  Kinds  of 

SILKS  ©  RIBBONS 

etc.,   etc. 

Every  Wednesday 


JOHN  W.  FERGUSON 

CO. 

ENGINEERS  AND  BUILDING 
CONTRACTORS 


United  Bank  Building 
PATERSON,  N.  J. 


253    Broadway 
New  York 


SPECIALISTS 

IN  THE 

CONSTRUCTION  AND  EQUIPMENT 

of  Buildings 
For  Manufacturing  and  Industrial  purposes. 

Submit  your  construction  problems  to  us  and 

get  the  benefit  of  an  extensive  and 

successful  experience. 


78a 


5-Thread 

150  Skeins  10,000 

Yards 

200  Skeins  .                 .   7  500 

Yards 

or 

300  Skeins  5  000 

Yards 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

Lbs.  Ozs. 

Drams 

Deniers 

21.14.... 

3.73.. 

65.02 

23.08 

4.01.. 

69  85 

.21.15.... 

3,74.. 

65.21 

23.09  

4.02.. 

70.04 

22.00.... 

3.75.. 

..65.40 

33.10..,.. 

4.03.. 

70.22 

22.01.... 

3.76.. 

65.58 

23.11  

4.04.. 

70.41 

22.02.... 

3.77.. 

65.77 

23.12  

4.05.. 

70.60 

22.03.... 

3.78.. 

65.95 

23.13  

4.06.. 

70.79 

22.04.... 

3.79.. 

66.14 

23.14..... 

4.07.. 

70.98 

22.05.... 

3.80.. 

66.32 

23.15  

4.08.. 

71.16 

22.06  

3.81.  . 

66.51 

24.00 

.4.10.. 

71  35 

22.07  

3.82.. 

66.70 

24.01 

4.11.. 

71.53 

22.08  

3.83.  . 

66.88 

24.02 

4.12.. 

71  72 

22.09  

3.85.  . 

67.07 

24.03  

4  13 

71  90 

22.10  

3.86.  . 

67.25 

24.04 

......4.14.. 

72  09 

22.11.... 

3.87.. 

67.44 

24.05  

4.15.. 

72.28 

22.12  

3.88.  . 

67.62 

24.06 

4.16.. 

.     72  46 

22.13.... 

3.89.. 

67.81 

24.07  

4.17.. 

72.65 

22.14.... 

3.90.. 

68.00 

24.08  

4.19.. 

72.83 

22.15 

3.91.. 

68.18 

24.09  

4.20.. 

73.02 

23.00.... 

3.92.. 

68.37 

24.10  

4.21.. 

73.20 

23.01.... 

3.93.. 

68.55 

24.11  

4.22.. 

73.39 

23.02.... 

3.94.. 

68.74 

24.12  

4.23.. 

73.58 

23.03.... 

3.95.. 

,.68.92 

24.13  

4.24.. 

73.76 

23.04.... 

3.96.. 

69.11 

24.14  

4.25.. 

73.96 

23.05.... 

.......3.97.. 

69.29 

24.15  

4.26.. 

74.14 

23.06.... 

3.98.. 

69.48 

25.00  

4.27.. 

74.34 

23.07  

3.99.. 

69.67 

Table  prepared  by  Mr.   H.  F.  Hofer. 

EFFICIENCY 

WE  ASSIST  YOU  TO  ATTAIN  IT  IN  YOUR  INDUSTRY 

Our  procedure  is  divided  into — 

AIMS,    ACTION,  ACHIEVEMENT 


The  Ideals  : 

1.  That  all  activity  is  subject 
to    controlling    underlying 
principles. 

2.  That  consistent  application 
of  those   principles    brings 
efficient  results. 

The  Plan  of  Action  : 

1.     To   study  and  analyze  the 
problem  in  detail. 
To    deduce    therefrom   the 
underlying   cause   of  the 
inefficiency    with    all    con- 
tributing facts. 
To   record    the   details  and 


2. 


3. 


the  deductions. 


4«  To  determine  the  remedy 
suited  to  eliminate  the 
cause. 

5.  To  apply  the  remedy. 

6.  To     achieve     the     efficient 
result. 


The  Achievement 
is  the  Fair  Deal : 

1.  AS  TO  MANUFACTURERS 

(a)  To  increase  Output. 

(b)  To  lessen  unit  costs. 

2.  AS  TO  WORKMEN 

(a)  To  lessen  toil. 

(b)  To  increase  earnings  per 
hour. 

(c)  To  employ  more  men. 

3.  AS  TO  CUSTOMERS 

(a)  To    give     better     quality 
with  greater  punctuality. 

(b)  To  lessen  the  price. 

(c)  To     increase     total     p»r- 
chases 


We  publish  a  number  of  pamphlets    by    Harrington    Emerson 

which    further     define      our      Ideals      and      MetJiods. 

They  will  be  sent  to  members  of  the  silk  industry 

and     their    friends     upon     application. 


THE    EMERSON    COMPANY 

Efficiency   Engineers 


CHICAGO 

McCormick  Bidg. 


NEW  YORK 
30   Church  St. 


PITTSBURG 
Oliver  Building 


8oa 


JAMES     CHITTICK 

122=124  East  25th  Street 
NEW  YORK 

Consulting     Silk     Specialist 


The  keenness  of  competition  in  modern  business 
demands,  as  never  before,  Scientific  Organization, 
Comprehensive  Methods  of  Control,  Sound  Policies, 
Precision  in  Accounting,  Accurate  and  Complete 
Records,  Exactitude  of  Cost  Calculation,  and  a 
Knowledge  of  the  most  approved  Methods  of 
Management,  Manufacture  and  Sale. 

No  manager  so  experienced  but  that  he  can  still 
learn  much  to  advantage. 

No  mill  so  successful  but  that,  in  many  direc- 
tions, its  efficiency  could  be  still  further  increased. 

No  mill  so  unsuccessful  but  that,  if  solvent,  it 
could  be  put  upon  a  profit-making  basis. 


Forms  drawn  up  for  mill  books  and  records 

Fabrics  analyzed  and  their  costs  figured 

Exact   cost   calculations    furnished 

Advice  given  on  manufacturing  and  business  questions 
Systems  of  mill  accounting  introduced 
Expert  testimony  provided 

Business  literature  prepared 


8ia 


SEMI-BITUMINOUS 

COAL 

Efficiency  and  Economy 

In  your  boiler  room  must  be  based  on  the 
positive  values  in  the  fuel  used, 

High  Heat  Units  and  Low  Ash. 

Low  volatile  semi-bituminous  coal  can  be 
burned  without  injury  to  your  product  and 
will  give  you 

Efficiency  and  Economy. 

Such  coals  cost  materially  less  money  and 
contain  considerably  more  heat  units  than 
anthracite  coals,  thus  giving 

A   Double   Economy 

All  Inquiries  Will  Receive  Prompt  Attention 

ARTHUR  H.  COLBY 

No.  1  BROADWAY,         NEW  YORK 


82a 


Scale  of  Lengths, 

per  Pound,  of  Various  Sizes  in  Drams 
per  1,000  Yards 

Drams  Yards 

Drams  Yards 

Drams  Yards 

Drams  Yards     Drams  Yards 

Drams  Yards 

1.20..  213,333 

2.00..  128,000 

2.80.,  91,428 

3.60..  71,  111 

4.40..  58,181 

5.20..  49,239 

1.21'.  .211,570 

2.01.  .127,363 

2.81..  91,  103 

3.61..  70,914 

4.41..  58,049 

5.21..  49,136 

1.22..  209,836 

2.02..  126,732 

2.82..  90.780 

3.62.  .70.718 

4.42..  57,91  8 

5.22..  49.042 

1.23..  208,130 

2.03..  126,108 

2.83..  90.459 

3.63..  70,523 

4.43..57,787 

5.23..  48.948 

1.24..  206,451 

2.04.  .125,494 

2.84..  90.140 

3.64.,  70,357 

4.44..  57,657 

5.24..  48,854 

1.25.  .205,200 

2.05..  124,878 

2.85..  8*9,824, 

3.65..  70,186 

4.45..  57,528 

5.25..  48,761 

1.26..  203,174 

2.06..  124,223 

2.86..  89,510 

3.66..  69,945 

4.46..  57,399 

5.26..  48,669 

1.27..  201,574 

S.07..  123,671 

2.87..  89,1  98 

3.67..  69,754 

4.47..  57,270 

5.27..  48,669 

1.28..  200,000 

2.08..  123,076 

2.88..  88,888 

3.68..  69,565 

4.48.,  57,142 

5.28-.  .48,484 

1.29.  .198,372 

2.  09..  122,488 

2.89..  88,581 

3.69..  69,378 

4.49.  .57.037 

5.29..  48,412 

1.30..  196,923 

2.10.  .121,904 

2.90..  88,275 

3.70..  69,189 

4.50..  56,888 

5.30..  48,801 

1.31..  195,419 

2.11..  121,327 

2.91..  87.972 

3.7JL.  69,002 

4.51..  56,762 

5.31..  48,210 

1.32..  193,939 

2.12..  120.754 

*.92..  87,671 

3.72..  68,817 

4.52..  56,687 

5.32..  48,120 

1.33.  .192,481 

2.13..  120,187 

2.93..  87,372 

3.73,.  68,632 

4.53..  56,512 

5.33.  .48,030 

1.34..  191,044 

2.14..  119,626 

2.94..  87,074 

3:74..68",449 

'-.54..  56,387 

5.34..  47,940 

1.35..  189,629 

2.15..  119,069 

2.  95..  86,779 

3.75..  68,266 

4.55..  56,263 

5.35..  47.850 

1.36..  188,235 

2.16..  118,518 

2.96..  86,486 

3.76..  68,085 

4.56..  56,140 

5.36..  47.760 

1.37.  .186,861 

2.17..  117,972 

2.97..  86,195 

3.77..  67,904 

4.57..  56,017 

5.37..  47,672 

.1.38..  185,507 

2.  18..  117,431 

2.98  .,.85,906 

3.78..  67,724 

4.58..  55,895 

5.38..  47,583 

1.39..  184,172 

2.19..  116,894 

2.99..  85,618 

3.79..  67,546 

4.59..  55,773 

5.39.  .47,495 

1.40..  182,857 

2.20..  116,363 

3.00..  85,333 

3.80..  67,363 

4.60..  55,652 

5.40..  47,407 

1.41.  .181,560 

2.  21..  115,837 

3.01..Sfe,049 

3.81..  67,191 

4.61..  55,531 

5.41..  47,319 

1.42..  180,281 

2.22.  .115,315 

3.02..  84,768 

3.82..  67,015 

4.62..  55,411 

5.42..  47,232 

1.43..  179.020 

2.23..  114,798 

3.03..  84,841 

3.83..  66,840 

4.63..  55,291 

5.43..  47,145 

1.44..  177,777 

2.24..  114,281 

3.04..  84.210 

3.84..  66,666 

4.64..  55,172 

5.44..  47,058 

1.45.  .176,551 

2.25..  113,777 

3.06..  83,934 

3.85..  66,493 

4.65..  55,053 

5.45.  .46,972 

1.46..  175.  342 

2.26.  -.113,274 

3.06..  83,660 

3.86..  66,321 

4.66..  54,935 

5.46..  46,866 

1.47..  174,149 

2.27..  112,775 

3.07..  83,387 

3.87..  66,149 

4.67..  54,817 

5.47,.  46,800 

1.48..  172,972 

2.28..  112,280 

3.08..  83,110 

3.88..  65,979 

4.68..  54,700 

5.48..  46,715 

1.49.  .171,879 

2.29..  111,790 

3.09..  88,848 

3.89..  65,809 

4.69..  54,584 

5.49..  46,630 

.1.50..  170,666 

2.30..  111,304 

3.10..  82,580 

3.90..  65,641 

4.70..  54,468 

5.50..  46,546 

1.51..  169,602 

2.31..  110,822 

3.11..  82,314 

3.91..  65,470 

4.71..  54,352 

5.51..  46,460 

1.82.  .168,421 

2.  32..  110,387 

3.12..  82,051 

3.92.  .,65,306 

4.72.  .54,237 

5.52.  .46,376 

1.53..  167,646 

2.33.  .109,871 

3.13..  81,789 

3.93..  65,139 

4.73..  54,122 

5.53..  46,296 

1.54..  166,233 

2.34..  109,401 

3.14..  81.528 

3.94..  64,974 

4.74..  54,008 

5.54..  46,209 

1.55..  165,101 

2.35..  108,936 

3.15..  81,269 

3.95..  64,810 

4.75..  53,894 

5.55..  46,126 

1.56.  .164,102 

2.36..  108,474 

3.16..  81,012 

3.96..  64,646 

4.76..  53,781 

5.56.  .46,043 

1.57..  163,057 

2.37..  108,016 

3.17.  .80,757 

3.97..  64,483 

4.77..  53,668 

5.57..  45,  960 

1.58..  162,  025 

2.38..  107,562 

3.18..  80,503 

3.98..  64,321 

4.78..  53,556 

5.58..  45,878 

1.59..  161,006 

2.39.  .107,112 

3.19..  80,250 

3.99..  64,  135 

4.79..  53,444 

5.59..  45,796 

1.60.  .160.000 

2.40..  106,666 

3.20..  80,000 

4.00..  64,000 

4.80..  53,333 

5.60..  45,714 

1.61..  159,  006 

2.41..  106,224 

3.21..  79,750 

4.01..  63,840 

4.81..  53,222 

5.61..  45,632 

1.62..  158,395 

2.42..  105,785 

3.22..  79,503 

4.02..  63,681 

4.82..  53,112 

5.62.  .45,561 

1.63..  157,055 

2.43..  105,349 

3.23..  79,256 

4.03..63.-523 

4.83..  53,002 

5.63..  45,470 

1.64.  .156,097 

2.44..  104,918 

3.24..  79,012 

4.04..  63,366 

4.84..  52,892 

5.64..  45,390 

1.65..  155,151 

2.45.  .104,489 

3.25..  78,769 

4.05..  63,209 

4.85..  52,788 

5.65..  45,309 

1.66..  153,614 

2.46..  104,064 

3.26..  78,527 

4.06..  63,054 

4.86..  52,674 

5.66..  45,229 

1.67..  153,293 

2.-1-7..  103,643 

3.27..  78,287 

4.  07..  62,901 

4.87..  52,566 

5.  67..  45,149 

1.68..  152,321 

2.48..  103,225 

3.28..  78,048 

4.08..  62,745 

4.88..  52,459 

5.68.  .45,070 

1.69..  151  ,479 

2.49..  102,811 

3.29.  ,77,811 

4.09..  62,501 

4.89..  52,351 

5.S9..  44,991 

1.70..  150,588 

2.50..  102,400 

3.30..  77,575 

4.10..  62,439 

4.90..  52,244 

5.70..  44,912 

1.71..  149,707 

2.51.  .101,991 

3.31..  77,341 

4.11..  62,287 

4.91..  52,138 

5.71.  .44,833 

1.72..  148,837 

2.  52..  101,587 

3.32..  77,138 

4.  12..  62,135 

4.92..  52,032 

5.72-  .44,736 

1.73..  147,976 

2.53..  101,146 

3.33..  76,1877 

4.13..61.985 

4.93..  51,926 

5.78..  44,677 

1.74..  147,126 

2.54..  100,787 

3.34..  76,646 

4.14..  61,835 

4.94..  51,821 

5.74..  44,606 

1.75..  146,285 

2.55..  100,391 

3,35..  76,417 

4.15..  61,868 

4.95..  51,717 

5.75..  44,521 

1.76.  .145,454 

2.56..  100,000 

3.36..  76,190 

4.16..61.538 

4.96..  51,610 

5.76..  44,  444 

1.77..  144,632 

2.57.  .   99,610 

3.37..  75,964 

4.17..  61,390 

4.97..  51,509 

5.77.  .44,367 

1.78.  -.143,820 

2.58..   99,224 

3.  38..  75,739 

4.18..  61,244 

4.98..  51,  405 

5.78..  44,290 

1.79..  143,016 

2.59..   93,841 

3.39..  75,516 

4.19..  61,097 

4.99..  51,302 

-   5.79..  44,214 

1.80.  .142,222 

2.60..   98,461 

3.40..  75,294 

4.20:.  60,952 

5.00..  51,200 

5.80.  .44,137 

1.81..141,436 

2.61...  98,084 

8.41..  75,073 

4.21..  60,807 

5.01.  .51,089 

5.81..  44,061 

1.82..  140,659 

2.62..   97,709 

3.42..  74,854 

4.22..  60,633 

5.  02..  50,996 

5.82..  43,986 

1.83.  .139,890 

2.63.  .    97,338 

3.43..  74,635 

4.28..  60,520 

0.08..  50,894 

5.83..43,91»0 

1.84..  139.130 

2.64..    96,969 

3.44..  74,418 

4.24..  60,877 

5.04..  50,793 

5.  84..  43,835 

1.85..  138,378 

2.65..   96,603 

3.45..  74  202 

4.25.  .60,235 

5.05  .  .  50,698 

5.85..  43,760 

1.86..  137,634 

2.66..   96,240 

3.46..  73,988 

4026..  60,095 

5.06.,  50,592 

5.86..  43,686 

1.87..  136,898 

2.67..    95,880 

3.47,.  73,775 

4.27..  59,953 

5.07..  50,493 

6.67.:43,611 

1.88..  136,170 

2.68..   95,522 

3.48..  73,563 

4.28..  59,813 

5.08..  50,393 

5.88..  43,5.37 

1.89..  135,449 

2.69..    95,130 

3.49..  73,852 

4.29..  59,673 

5.09,.  50,294 

3.89..  43,  468 

1.90.  .134,736 

2.70..   94,814 

3.50..  73,142 

4.30..  59,534 

5.10..  50,196 

5.90.  .43,389 

1.91..  134,031 

2.71..   94,464 

3.51..  72,934 

4.31..  59,442 

5.11..  50,097 

5.91..  43,313 

1.92..  133,333 

2.72..   94,118 

3.52..  72,727 

4.32..  59,259 

5.12..  50,000 

5.92.  .43,243 

1.96..  132,642 

2.73..    93,772 

3.53..  72,552 

4.33..  59,122 

5.13..  49,902 

5.93..  43,170 

1'.94.  .131,958 

2.74..    93,430 

3.54..  72,316 

4.34..  58,986 

5.14..  49,805 

5.94..  43,097 

1.95..  131,282 

2.75..    93,070 

3.55..  72,197 

4.35..58.850 

5.1-5..  49,708 

5.95..  43,035 

1.96..  130,612 

2.76..   92,753 

3.56..  71,910 

4.36..  58,715 

5.16..  49,612 

5.96.  .42,952 

1.97..  129,949 

2.77..   92,418 

3.57.  .71,708 

4.37..  58,581 

5.17..  49,516 

5.97..  42,881 

1.98.  .129,292 

2.78..   92,086 

3.58..  71,  508 

4.38..  58,447 

5.18..  49,420 

5.98..  42,812 

1.99..  128,592 

2.79..    91,764 

3.59..  71,305 

4.39.  .58,314 

5.19.  .40,325 

5.99..  42,738 

Table 

prepared  by 

Mr.   H.   F. 

Hofer. 

83ft 

I.   A.   HALL   &   CO.,   Paterson,  N.  J. 


ALLENTOWN  REED,  HARNESS  &  MILL  SUPPLY  Co., 

Allentown,  Pa. 


Manufacturers  and  Importers  of 

REEDS,  HARNESS,  SHUTTLES,  QUILLS, 
TWISTED  WIRE  HEDDLES, 

WIRE  FALSE  REEDS, 
LINGOES  (countersunk  heads), 

BAKED  HARNESS, 
"CAN'T  SLIP"  COP  SPINDLES, 
and  General  Silk  Mill  Supplies. 


(PATERSON  MILL)  (ALLENTOWN  MILL) 

Sole  American  Agents  for  the  Imported 

Grob  Flat  Steel  Meddles 

Large  stock  of  sizes  and  styles  always  on  hand. 

All  kinds  of  frames  for  Flat  Steel 
and  Twisted  Wire  Heddles. 

Also  for  Baked  and  Wire  False  Reeds. 
Jacquard  Harness  Building  a  Specialty. 


NICHOLAS    SANER 

534-538  West  58th  Street 
NEW  YORK 

Telephone  1641   Columbus 


Manufacturer  of  All  Kinds  of 

REEDS  AND  SHAFT  HARNESSES 

FOR 

RIBBONS  AND  BROAD  SILKS 


Special  Mail  Harnesses 

for  Raw  Silk  Soft  Silk  and  for  Plain  and  Fancy  Weaves 


Reeds  for  Ribbons 

Broad  Silks 
Neckties 

Warping 

Beads 

and  for  All  Passementerie  Specialties,  with  Re- 
movable Dents,  in  Different  Patterns. 


COPPER  WIRE  for  the  MILLINERY  TRADE  in 

any  thickness,  width  or  temper,  made   to 

order  at  short   notice 


Only  the  Very  Best  Materials,  Regardless  of 
Cost,  Are  Used  in  Making  the  Above  Articles 


Established  1886 


GEO.  T.  FROST  &  SON 

SILK  MANUFACTURERS'  SUPPLIES. 


WOOD  TURNINGS 

of  every  description.  Having  purchased  the  business  of 
Messrs.  J.  Atkinson  &  Co.,  we  are  prepared  to  make 
all  kinds  of  WOOD  WORK  for  the  textile  trade 
in  the  best  manner  and  at  low  prices.  WINDER 

BOBBINS,  ANCHOR  BOBBINS,  QUILLS, 
WARP  ROLLS,  SWIFTS,  SWIFT  STICKS. 

BRAIDED  BANDINGS. 

We  manufacture  all  kinds  of  Braided  Banding — high 
grade  Egyptian  and  Sea  Island  for  SPINDLES, 
No.  80,  64  and  48  for  BUNDLING,  and  all  sizes 
for  CARD  LACING. 

HOOK  BANDS. 

Hard  and  Soft  Twist  Bands  in  all  lengths  and 
diameters,  for  transmission  purposes. 

LACING  YARNS. 

All  sizes  for  Throwsters  and  Dyers-Natural,  Mercerized, 
Bleached,  Peeler,  Spun  Silk,  etc. 

FLYERS  and  WIRE  WORK. 

We  make  all  styles  of  Flyers,  also  cut'Flyers  Rewired; 
Guide  Wires,  Automatic  Tension  Wires,  etc. 

SUPPLIES. 

Harness  Straps,  Loom  Cords,  Winder  Spindles, 
Swift  Braces,  Safety  Gasoline  Cans,  Lease 
Cord,  Twine,  etc. 


PROMPT  SERVICE.          LOW  PRICES. 
563-577  E.  23d,  St.,  PATERSON,  N.  J. 


Value  Proportions  for  Thrown  Silk  at  Various  Rates 

of  Boil-off 

WRONG  calculations  in  comparing  the  values  of  a  certain  quality  of 
thrown  silk  at  different  rates  of  boil-off  are  apt  to  cause  unpleasant 
surprises.  For  instance,  a  dealer  in  thrown  silk  will  offer  a  buyer 
100  pounds  boil-off  2G  per  cent.,  a*  say,  $4.70  per  pound.  Another  dealer 
offers  the  same  buyer  the  same  quality  of  thrown  silk,  boiling  off  18  per 
cent.,  at  $5.21.  The  buyer  in  comparing  these  two  prices  would  naturally 
be  inclined  to  buy  the  $4.70  silk  if  be  is  not  well  posted  regarding  the 
question  of  boil-off.  If  the  last  dealer  inquires  what  the  boil-off  is  on  the 
silk  offered  by  the  first  dealer,  the  buyer  would  generally  reply  that  while 
there  is  a  difference  of  8  per  cent,  in  the  rate  of  boil-off,  even  so  the  price 
of  the  second  dealer  compares  unfavorably  with  that  of  the  first  dealer. 

Many  people  might  figure  that  if  8  per  cent,  for  the  difference  in 
boil-off  is  added  to  the  price  of  the  thrown  silk  offered  by  the  first  dealer, 
the  buyer  would  still  be  getting  his  silk  at  a  less  price  than  that  offered  by 
the  second  dealer;  to  wit,  he  would  be  paying  $4.70  plus  8  per  cent,  or 
$5.07  instead  of  $5.21,  as  offered  by  the  second  dealer. 

There  might  be  a  number  of  buyers  of  thrown  silk  figuring  this  way, 
and  they  would  be  wrong.  A  silk  boiling  off  26  per  cent,  and  selling  at 
$4.70  per  pound  is  exactly  .equal  to  silk  boiling  off  at  18  per  cent,  and 
selling  at  $5.22  per  pound. 

The  following  table  of  value  proportions  for  thrown  silks  at  various 
rates  of  boil-off  will  be  found  valuable  in  making  calculations  of  this 
kind:— 

Comparative  Value  in  Dollars  of  One  Pound  of  Silk  at  Various  Rates  of  Boil-off 

Reprinted  from  American  Silk  Journal,  February  1,  1910. 

RATES  OF  BOIL-OFF. 

22%  23$  24$  25%  26$  27$  28$  29$  30$ 

2.85  2.81  2.78  2.74  2.71  2.67  2.64  2.60  2.56 

2.87  2.83  2.80  2.76  2.73  2.69  2.66  2.62  2.58 

2.90  2.86  2.83  2.79  2.76  2.72  2.69  2.65  2.61 

2.92  2.88  2.85  2.81  2.78  2.74  2.71  2.67  2.63 

2.95  2.90  2.88  2.84  2.81  2.77  2.74  2.70  2.66 

2.97  2.93  2.90  2.86  2.83  2.79  2.76  2.72  2.68 

3.00  2.95  2.93  2.89  2.86  2.88  2.79  2.75  2.71 

3.02  2.98  2.95  2.91  2.88  2.84  2.81  2.77  2.73 

3.05  3.01  2.98  2.94  2.91  2.87  2.84  2.80  2.76 

3.07  3.03  3.09  2.96  2.93  2.80  2.86  2.82  2.78 

3.10  3.06  3.0'2  -2.98  2.95  2.91  2.88  £.84  2.80 

3.12  8.08  3.04  3.00  2.97  2.93  2.90  2.86  2.82 

3.15  3.11  3.07  3.03  2.99  2.95  2.92  2.88  2.84 

3.17  3.13  3.09  3.05  3.01  2.97  2.95  2.91  2.87 

3.20  3.16  3.12  3.08  3.02  3.00  2.98  2.93  2.89 

3.22  3.18  3.14  3.10  3.06  3.02  3.00  2.95  2.91 

3.25  3.21  3.17  8.13  3.09  3.04  3.01  2,97  2.93 
3.27  3.23  3.19  3.15  '3.11  3.06  3.02  2.98  2.94 

5.26  S..25  3.21  3.17  3.13  3.08  3.04  2.99  2.96 
3.31  3.27  3.23  3.19  3.15  3.10  3.06  3.01  2.99 
3.33  3.29  3.25  3.21  8.17  3.12  3.08  3.03  3.01 
3.36  3.82  3.28  3.23  3.19  3.14  3.10  3.05  3.03 
3.39  3.35  3.31  3.26  3.52  3.17  3.13  3.08  3.05 
3.41  8.37  3.33  3.28  3.24  8.19  3.15  3.10  3.§7 
3.43  3.39  3.35  3.30  3.25  3.20  3.16  8.13  3.08 
3.45  3.41  3.37  3.32  3.27  3.22  3.18  3.15  3.10 
8.47  3.43  3.39  3.34  3.29  3.24  3.20  3.16  3.12 
3.49  £.45  3.42  3.37  3.32  3.27  3.23  3.18  3.15 
3.51  3.47  3.44  3.39  3.34  3.29  3.25  3.20  3.17 
3.54  8.50  3.47  3.42  3.37  3.32  3.28  3.23  3.20 
3.57  3.53  3.49  3.44  3.39  3.34  3.30  3.25  3.22 
8.60  3.56  3.51  3.46  3.41  3.36  3.32  3.27  3.24 
3.62  3.58  3.53  3.48  3.43  3.38  3.34  3.29  3.26 
3.64  3.60  3.55  3.50  3.45  3.40  3.36  3.31  3.28 
3.66  3.61  3.57  3.52  3.47  3.42  3.88  3.33  3.30 
3.68  3.63  3.59  3.54  3.49  3.44  3.40  3>35  3.32 
3.70  3.65  3.61  3.56  3.51  3.46  3.42  3.37  3.34 
3.72  3.67  3.63  3.58  3.53  3.48  3.44  3.39  3.36 
3.75  3.70  3.6?>  R.«o  3.5^  3.50  3.46  3.41  3.37 
3.77  3.72  3.67  3.62  3.57  3.52  3.48  3.43  3.39 
3.80  3.75  3-70  3.65  3.60  3.55  3.50  3.45  3.41 

(Over) 
Table  prepared  by  Mr.   H.   F.   Hofer. 


18$ 

19$ 

20$ 

*21$ 

3.00 

2.96 

2.93 

2.90 

3.02^ 

2.98^ 

2.95 

2.92 

3.05 

3.01 

2.98 

2.95 

3.07J4 

3.03J4 

3.00 

2.97 

3.10 

3.06 

3.03 

3.00 

3.12^ 

3.08  Ya 

3.05 

3.02 

3.15 

3.11 

3.08 

S.05 

3.17J£ 

3.13J4 

3.L8 

3.07 

3.20 

8.16 

3.13 

3.10 

3.22^ 

3.18^ 

3.15 

3.12 

3.25 

3.21 

3.18 

3.15 

8.27  »4 

3.2,3^ 

3.20 

3.17 

3.30 

3.26 

3.23 

3.20 

3.32J4 

3.2814 

3.25 

3.22 

3.35 

3.31 

3.2S 

3.25 

3.37'/S 

3.33^ 

3.30 

3.27 

3.40 

3.36 

3.33 

3.30 

3.42^ 

3.38 

3,35 

3.82 

3.45 

3.40  Y* 

3.38 

3.35 

S.47# 

3.43H 

8.40 

3.37 

3.50 

3A5l/2 

3.42 

3.39 

3.52^ 

3.48 

3.45 

3.42 

3.55 

3.51 

3:4S 

3.45 

3.57^ 

3.53 

3.50 

3.i7 

3.60 

3.55J^ 

3.52 

3.4^ 

3.62J4 

3.58 

3.54 

8.511 

3.65 

3.60^ 

3.56 

3.53 

3.67J4 

3.63 

3.58 

3.55 

3.70 

3.6554 

3.60 

3.57 

3.725^ 

3.68 

3.62 

3.6.0 

3.75 

3.70$4 

3.66 

3.63 

3.77  YZ 

3.73 

3.69 

3.66 

3.80 

3.75# 

3.71 

3.68 

3.82^ 

3.78 

3.73 

3.70 

3.85 

3.80 

3.76 

3.72 

3.87  Y, 

3.82!^ 

3.78 

3.73 

3.90 

3.85 

3.81 

3.75 

3.92^ 

3.87# 

3.83 

3.77 

3.95 

3.90 

3.86 

3.80 

3.97^ 

3.921/2 

3.88 

3.82 

4.00 

3.95 

3.90 

3.85 

TEXTILE  OILS. 


LOOM  OILS.     *  'Paragon' '  brands. 

Furnished  in  every  consistency  and  grade,  from  the  su- 
perb "Crystal,"  which  is  colorless  and  odorless,  to  the 
cheaper  grades  for  general  use. 

SPINDLE  OILS. 

Specially  prepared  for  Spinners  and  Silk  Throwsters, 
A  grade  to  suit  every  kind  of  spinning  machinery* 

ENGINE  OILS. 

Highest  grade  CYLINDER,  CRANK  CASE  and  other 
Engine  Oils* 

LUBRICATING  OILS  and  GREASES. 

All  kinds  of  high  grade  Lubricating  Oils  and  Greases, 
for  every  sort  of  mechanical  equipment. 


If  you  have  any  Lubricating  Troubles, 

consult  us.   We  are  specialists  in  this  line 

and  will  gladly  advise  you. 


Borne,  Scrymser  Company 

ESTABLISHED  1874 

80  South  Street         Claremont,  Jersey  City, 
New  York  N.  J. 

—  ALSO  — 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Boston,  Mass.,  Pall  River,  Mass., 

437  Chestnut  St.          36  Central  Wharf  1 60  Third  Street 


88a 


(Continued) 

RATES 

OF   BOIL-OFF. 

18$       19$ 

201, 

211, 

221, 

23$ 

24$ 

25$ 

26$ 

27$ 

28$ 

29$ 

30$ 

4.02J4    8.97 

3.93 

3.87 

3.82 

3.77 

3.72 

3.67 

3.62 

3.57 

3.52 

3.47 

3.43 

4.05        4.00 

3.96 

3.90 

3.S5 

3.80 

3.75 

3.70 

3.65 

3.60 

3.54 

3.49 

•8.45 

4.07^    4.02 

3.98 

3.92 

3.87 

3.82 

3.77 

3.67 

3.62 

3.56 

3.51 

3.47 

4.10        4.05 

4.01 

3.95 

3.90 

3.85 

3.80 

3.75 

3.70 

3.65 

3.59 

3.54 

3.50 

4.12  %    4.07 

4.03 

8.97 

3.92 

3.87 

3.82 

3.77 

3.72 

3.67 

3.61 

3.56 

3.52 

4..15         4.10 

4.06 

4.00 

3.95 

3.90 

3.85 

3.80 

3.75 

3.70 

3.64 

3.59 

3.55 

4.17}^     4.12 

4.08 

4.02 

4.97 

3.92 

3.87 

3.82 

3.77 

3.72 

3.67 

3.62 

3.58 

4.20         4.15 

4.11 

4.05 

4.00 

3.94 

3.90 

3.85 

3.79 

3.74 

3.69 

3.64 

3.60 

4.22y2    4.17 

4.13 

4.07 

4.02 

3.96 

3.92 

3.87 

3.81 

3.76 

3.72 

3.67 

3.63 

4.25         4.20 

4.16 

4.10 

4.05 

4.00 

3.94 

3.90 

3.84 

3.79 

3.74 

3.69 

3.65 

4.27H    4.22 

4.18 

4.12 

4.07 

4.02 

3.96 

3.92 

3.86 

3.81 

3.76 

3.71 

3.67 

4.30         4.25 

4.21 

4.15 

4.10 

4.04 

3.09 

3.95 

3.89 

3.83 

3.78 

3.73 

3.69 

4.32y2     4.27 

4.23 

4.17 

4.12 

4.06 

4.01 

3.97 

3.91 

3.85 

3.80 

3.75 

3.71 

4.35         4.29 

4.25 

4.20 

4.14 

4.08 

4.03 

3.99 

3.93 

3.87 

3.82 

3.77 

3.73 

4.37J4     4.31 

4.27 

4.22 

4.16 

4.10 

4.05 

4.01 

3.95 

3.90 

3.85 

3.80 

3.76 

4.40         4.34 

4.30 

4.25 

4.19 

4.13 

4.07 

4.03 

3.97 

3.92 

3.87 

3.82 

3.78 

4.42  Yz    4.36 

4.32 

4.27 

4.21 

4.15 

4.10 

4.05 

3.99 

3.94 

3.90 

3.85 

3.81 

4.45         4.39 

4.35 

4.30 

4.24 

4.18 

4.12 

4..07 

4.01 

3.97 

3.92 

3.87 

S.83 

4.47y2    4.41 

4.37 

4.32 

4.26 

4.20 

4.15 

4.10 

4.03 

3.99 

3.95 

3.89 

3.86 

4.50         4.44 

4.40 

4.35 

4.29 

4.23 

4.17 

4.12 

4.05 

4.00 

3.96 

3.91 

3.88 

4.52y2     4.46 

4.42 

4.37 

4.31 

4.25 

4.20 

4.15 

4.08 

4.02 

3.98 

3.93 

3.90 

4.55         4.49 

4.45 

4.40 

4.34 

4.27 

4.23 

4.17 

4.10 

4.04 

4.00 

3.95 

3.92 

4.57J4     4.51 

4.47 

4.42 

4.36 

4.29 

4.25 

4.20 

4.13 

4.07 

4.02 

3.97 

3.94 

4.60         4.54 

4.50 

4.45 

4.39 

4.32 

4.27 

4.22 

4.16 

4.10 

4.05 

4.00 

3.96 

4.62*4     4.56 

4.52 

4.47 

4.41 

4.34 

4.30 

4.25 

4.19 

4.13 

4.07 

4.02 

3.98 

4.65         4.59 

4.55 

4.50 

4.44 

4.37 

4.32 

4.27 

4.21 

4.15 

4.09 

4.04 

4.00 

4.6iy2     4.61 

4.57 

4.52 

4.46 

4.39 

4.34 

4.29 

4.23 

4.17 

4.11 

4.06 

4.02 

4.70        4.64 

4.60 

4.55 

4.49 

4.42 

4.37 

4.32 

4.2-6 

4.20 

4.13 

4.08 

4.04 

4.72J4     4.66 

4.62 

4.57 

4.51 

4.44 

4.39 

4.34 

4.28 

4.22 

4.15 

4.10 

4.06 

4.75        4.69 

4.65 

4.59 

4.53 

4.46 

4.41 

4.36 

4.29 

4.23 

4.17 

4.12 

4.07 

4.77^    4.71 

4.67 

4.61 

4.55 

4.48 

4.43 

4.38 

4.31 

4.25 

4.19 

4.13 

4.09 

4.80        4.74 

4.70 

4.63 

4.57 

4.50 

4.45 

4.40 

4.33 

4.87 

4.21 

4.15 

4.10 

4.82J4    4.77 

4.72 

4.65 

4.59 

4.53 

4.47 

4.42 

4.35 

4.30 

4.24 

4.17 

4.12 

4.85        4.80 

4.74 

4.68 

4.62 

4.56 

4.50 

4.44 

4.38 

4.33 

4.27 

4.20 

.4.15 

4.87^    4.82 

4.77 

4.71 

4.65 

4.59 

4.53 

4.47 

4.41 

4.36 

4.30 

4.23 

4.18 

4.90        4.85 

4.79 

4.73 

4.67 

4.61 

4.55 

4.49 

4.43 

4.38 

4.32 

4.25 

4.20 

4.921/2     4.87 

4.81 

4.75 

4.69 

4.63 

4.57 

4.51 

4.45 

4.40 

4.34 

4.27 

4.22 

4.95         4.90 

4.84 

4.78 

4.72 

4.66 

4.60 

4.54 

4.48 

4.43 

4.37 

4.30 

4.25 

4.97}4     4.92 

4.86 

4.80 

4.74 

4.68 

4.62 

4.56 

4.50 

4.45 

4.39 

4.32 

4.27 

5.00        4.95 

4.89 

4.83 

4.77 

4.71 

4.65 

4.59 

4.53 

4.48 

4.42 

4.35 

4.30 

6.02  H    4.97 

4.91 

4.85 

4.79 

4.73 

4.67 

4.61 

4.55 

4.50 

4.44 

4.37 

4.32 

5.05         5.00 

4.94 

4.88 

4.82 

4.76 

4.70 

4.64 

4.58 

4.52 

4.46 

4.39 

4,34 

6.0714    5.02 

4.96 

4.90 

4.84 

4.78 

4.72 

4.66 

4.60 

4.54 

4.48 

4.41 

4.36 

5.10        5.05 

4.98 

4.92 

4.86 

4.80 

4.74 

4.68 

4.62 

4.56 

4.50 

4.43 

4.38 

6.l2y2    5.07 

5.01 

4.95 

4.89 

4.83 

4.76 

4.71 

4.65 

4.59 

4.53 

4.46 

4.40 

5.15        5.10 

5.04 

4.98 

4.92 

4.S6 

4.80 

4.74 

4.68 

4.62 

4.56 

4.49 

4.43 

5.17^     5.11 

5.05 

5.00 

4.94 

4.88 

4.82 

4.76 

4.70 

4.64 

4.58 

4.51 

4.45 

5.20        5.14 

5.08 

5.04 

4.96 

4.90 

4.84 

4.78 

4.72 

4.66 

4.60 

4.53 

4.47 

6.22y2     5.16 

5.10 

5.06 

4.98 

4.92 

4.8'6 

4.80 

4.74 

4.68 

4.62 

4.55 

4.49 

5.25         5.19 

5.12 

5.08 

5.00 

4.94 

4.88 

4.82 

4.76 

4.70 

4.64 

4.57 

4.51 

5.27J4     5.21 

5.15 

5.11 

5.02 

4.96 

4.90 

4.84 

4.78 

4.72 

4.66 

4.59 

4.53 

5.30         5.24 

5.18 

5.13 

5.05 

4.98 

4.92 

4.86 

4.80 

4.74 

4.68 

4.61 

4.55 

5.32J4    5.26 

5.20 

5.15 

5.07 

5.00 

4.94 

4.88 

4.82 

4.76 

4.70 

4.63 

4.57 

5.35        5.29 

5.22 

5.18 

5.09 

5.02 

4.96 

4.90 

4.84 

4.78 

4.72 

4.65 

4.59 

5.'37^    5.31 

5.25 

5.20 

5.12 

5.05 

4.99 

4.92 

4.86 

4.80 

4.74 

4.67 

4.61 

6.40        5.34 

5.27 

5.23 

5.14 

5.07 

5.01 

4.94 

4.88 

4.82 

4.76 

4.69 

4.63 

5.4%y2    5.37 

5.30 

5.25 

5.17 

5.10 

5.03 

4.96 

4.90 

4.84 

4.78 

4.71 

4.65 

5.45        5.39 

5.32 

5.27 

5.19 

5.12 

5.05 

4.98 

4.92 

4.86 

4.80 

4.73 

4.67 

5.47J4     5.41 

5.35 

5.30 

5.21 

5.14 

5.07 

5.00 

4.94 

4.88 

4.82 

4.75 

4.69 

6.50         5.44 

5.38 

5.33 

5.23 

5.16 

5.09 

5.02 

4.96 

4.90 

4.84 

4.77 

4.71 

6.52^     5.47 

5.40 

5.35 

5.26 

5.19 

5.12 

5.05 

4.98 

4.92 

4.8$ 

4.79 

4.73 

5.55        5.49 

5.42 

5.38 

5.28 

5.21 

5.14 

5.07 

5.00 

4.94 

4.88 

4.81 

4.75 

5.57J4     5.52 

5.46 

5.40 

5.31 

5.24 

5.17 

5.10 

5.02 

4.96 

4.90 

4.83 

4.77 

5.60        5.54 

5.47 

5.42 

5.33 

5.26 

5.19 

5.12 

5.04 

4.98 

4.92 

4.85 

4.79 

5.62y2    5.56 

5.49 

5.44 

5.35 

5.28 

5.21 

5.14 

5.06 

5.00 

4.94 

4.87 

4.81 

5.65        5.58 

5.52 

5.46 

5.37 

5.29 

5.22 

5.16 

5.08 

5.02 

4.96 

4.89 

4.83 

6.67J4     5.61 

5.54 

5.48 

5.39 

5.31 

5.24 

5.18 

5.10 

5.04 

4.98 

4.91 

4.85 

5.70        5.63 

5.56 

5.51 

5.41 

5.33 

5.26 

5.20 

5.12 

5.06 

5.00 

4.93 

4.87 

5.72J4     5.66 

5.59 

5.54 

5.44 

5.36 

5.29 

5.23 

5.15 

5.08 

5.02 

4.95 

4.89 

5.75         5.68 

5.62 

5.56 

5.47 

5.39 

5.32 

5.26 

5.18 

5.10 

5.04 

4.97 

4.91 

5.77J4     5.71 

5.64 

5.67 

5.49 

5.41 

5.34 

5.28 

5.20 

5.12 

5.06 

4.99 

4.93 

5'.  80        5.73 

5.65 

5.59 

5.50 

5.42 

5.35 

5.29 

5.22 

5.14 

5.08 

5.01 

4.95 

5.82  V2    5.75 

5.67 

5.62 

5.52 

5.44 

6.37 

5.31 

5.24 

5.16 

5.10 

5.03 

4.97 

5.85        5.77 

5.70 

5.64 

6.55 

5.46 

5.40 

5.34 

5.26 

5.18 

5.12 

5.05 

4.99    / 

5.87^    5.80 

5.72 

5.67 

5.57 

5.49 

5.42 

5.36 

5.28 

5.20 

5.14 

5.07 

5.00 

5.90        6.82 

5.75 

5.70 

5.60 

5.52 

5.45 

5.39 

5.31 

5.22 

5.16 

5.08 

5.02 

5.92^$    5.85 

5.77 

6.72 

5.63 

5.55 

5.48 

5.42 

5.33 

5.24 

5.18 

5.10 

5.04 

5.95        5.88 

5.80 

5.75 

5.65 

5.57 

5.50 

5.44 

5.36 

5P.7 

5.21 

5.12 

5.07 

597J4    5.90 

5.83 

5.78 

5.68 

5.60 

5.53 

5.47 

5.39 

5.30 

5.24 

5.16 

5.09 

6.00        5.93 

5.86 

5.79 

5.71 

5.63 

5.56 

5.50 

5.42 

5.34 

5.27 

5.20 

5.12 

Table 

prepared 

by  Mr. 

H.   F. 

Hofer. 

OBERLY&  NEWELL 

4 


MAKERS. 


DRY  GOODS  WORK  A  SPECIALTY 


Labeling,  Mounting  and  Booking 
Samples  of  every  description  for 
the  Silk,  Dress  Goods,  Cotton, 
Woolen  and  Tailor  Trimming 
Trade  •••••• 

Designing,  Lithographing,  Printing, 
Stamping  and  Embossing 

Labels,  Tags,  Bands,  Gum  Tickets, 
Fasteners,  Etc  ..... 

We  will  make  and  carry  your  Tickets,  Bands,  Cards  and 
Covers  in  stock,  making  immediate  delivery  as  called  for. 


540  Pearl  Street,  New  York 

Telephone,  5241    Worth 


9oa 


IF 

your  form  letters  and  circulars  lack  the 
"punch"  that  brings  results 

•—CALL  US  IN— ^ 

We   have   the   finest   and    most    up-to- 
date  power  plant  in  the  city. 


We  do  fac-simile  and  multigraphing 
letters — typewriting,  addressing  fold- 
ing, etc.  etc. 


-000- 


In  the  Metropolitan  Building  six  years. 

METROPOLITAN 
LETTER     COMPANY 

1  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City 

Phone  2844  Qramercy 


9ia 


AMERICAN 
SILK-JOURNAL 


THE  ONLY  JOURNAL  OF  THE  SILK  TRADE  WITH  AN 
UNBROKEN  EXISTENCE  OF  THIRTY-TWO  YEARS. 

A  progressive  illustrated  monthly  devoted  exclusively  to  all  branches  of  the 
silk  industry.  Authoritatively  reflects  the  progress  of  silk  manufacturing  and 
merchandising  here  and  abroad. 

It  carries  the  largest  amount  of  silk  merchandise  and  mill  supply  advertising, 
having  the  greatest  circulation  in  the  silk  field.  Men  who  buy,  read  it.  Men  who 
sell,  advertise  in  it.  Subscription  $2.00  per  annum,  Foreign  $3.00. 

CLIFFORD  &  LAWTON,  PUBLISHERS,    1  E.J28th  ST.,  NEW  YORK 
ESTABLISHED  1882 


"The  Voice  of  the  Dry  Goods  Trade" 

Edited  by  MAX  JAGERHUBER 

It  is  the  greatest  authority  on  European 
and  American  fashions  and  fabrics. 

It  covers  the  New  York  dry  goods  markets 
with  thoroughness  and  accuracy. 

It  is  a  forum  where  employer  and  employe 
meet  upon  a  common  ground  for  the  discussion 
of  selling  plans,  store  management,  advertising 
problems,  operating  expenses  and  the  thousand 
and  one  things  that  confront  the  dry  goods  mer- 
chant in  every  day  life. 

It  is  a  necessary  adjunct  to  the  dry  goods 
business  because  it  stimulates  thought,  stirs  im- 
agination and  helps  to  sell  more  goods. 

Published  monthly  by  the 

Dry  Goods  Publishing 
Company 

120  West  32nd  Street      -       -       New  York 


93* 


E  remarkable  development  of  the  knit 
goods  industry  in  the  United  States  during 
the  past  few  years  accounts,  according  to  a  recent 
report  of  the  Silk  Association  of  America,  for 
some  of  the  increased  consumption  of  raw  silk 
which  had  been  noted  from  year  to  year,  even 
in  years  when  what  is  generally  spoken  of  as  the 
silk  industry  was  languishing.  The  preference 
of  women  for  silk  hosiery  and  gloves,  and  to  a 
less  marked  degree  for  silk  underwear,  has,  in 
fact,  created  a  new  and  important  branch  of  the 
silk  industry." 

KNIT 
GOODS 

If  the  Only  Trade  Journal  Pub- 
lished exclusively  in  the  Interests 
of  the  Knitting  Industry. 

ADVERTISING  RATES  AND  SAMPLE  COPIES 
SENT  ON  APPLICATION 


McCready  Publishing  Company 

118  East  Twenty-eighth  St.,    New  York 


With  which  is  incorporated  the  SILK  REPORTER 

Established  in   1877 

An  Illustrated  Magazine  Published  Monthly  in 
the  Interests  of  the  Producer  and  the  Buyer 

H.  S.  VORHIS,  Managing  Editor 

SILK  is  a  monthly  magazine  devoted  to  the  inter- 
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It  Wins 

its  way  by  service 


LC,  Smith  &  Bros,  Typewriter 

(Ball  Bearing— Long    Wearing) 

In  buying  a  typewriter  you  want  a  satisfactory  answer  to  three  questions: 

What  will  it  do  for  me? 
How  long  will  it  do  it? 
How  well  will  it  do  it? 

By  answering  these  queries  with  the  needs  of  the  typewriter  owner  and 
user  in  mind,  the  L,.  C.  Smith  &  Bros.  Typewriter  Company  has 
attained  the  front  rank  in  the  typewriter  field. 

Some  people  think  that  a  Typewriter  is  &Typewriter 
and  that  is  all  there  is  to  it.  Machines  may  look  alike 
but  there  is  a  lot  of  difference  in  efficiency. 

The  new  Model  Five  is  built  not  only  for  straight 
correspondence  but  for  tabulating,  billing,  and  in  fact  for 
every  service  needed  in  the  average  business. 

Its  ball  bearings  at  all  points  where  friction  developes 
through  action,  permit  close  adjustment  and  insure 
correct  and  accurate  typewriting. 

We  would  like  the  opportunity  to  tell  you 
more  about  it. 

Write  for  free  book  of  our  ncrv  Model  Five. 


L.   C.  SMITH  &    BROS.  TYPEWRITER    CO. 

Head  Office  for  Domestic  and  Foreign  Business:  SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.,  U.  S.  A. 
Branches  in  all  'Principal  Cities 

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THE  BARNES 
PRINTING     CO 

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Illustrating,    Color    Printing,    Engraving 

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Description 


High  Class  Work         -        Reasonable  Prices 


98a 


Curves  showing  Regain  of  Cotton,  Silk  and  Wool,  under 
varying  conditions,  as  worked  out  by  Schloesing 


Air 


Humidity 


V 


39 


*  (/ 


Moisture  for  100  parts  of  Dry  Material 


30 


vt  Humidity  of  the  Air 


/A 


(AY 


Ufl 


Moisture  for  100  parts  of  Dry  Material 


30 


99* 


C.  DEFLACIEUX 

Jacquard  Card  Cutter 

(LISEUR) 

FOR  ALL  TEXTILE  FABRICS 


REPEATING 

French  and  Fine  Index 


FIRST-CLASS    WORK 


6  Mill  Street,  Paterson,  N.  J 

TELEPHONE  CONNECTION 


1 00ft 


Table  of  Cotton  Regain 

For  Various  Temperatures  and  Percentages 
of  Humidity 


DEGREES  FAHRENHEIT 


Hriutty 


40        45        50        55        60        65        70        75        80        85        90        95 


15    2.93    2.81  2.90    2.87    2.84    2.81     2.79    2.73    2.68    2.63    2.57    2.50    2.40 

20    3.63    3.61  3.60    3.58    3.54    3.50    3.45    3.40    3.35    3.30    3.21    3.10    3.00 

25    4.30    4.27  4.24     4.20    4.16    4.12    4.06    4.00    3.92    3.85    3.75    3.64    3.30 

30    4.89    4.87  4.84    4.80    4.75*   4.70    4.65    4.60    4.50    4.40    4.30    4.20    4.06 

35    5.42    5.40  5.37    5.3*2     5.27     5.21     5.15    5.09    4.99    4.89    4.78    4.67    4.56 

40    5.95    5.93  5.90    5.83    5.79    5.72    5.65    5.58    5.47    5.37    5.25    5.14    5.05 

42    6.15    6.13  6.10    6.03    5.99    5.92    5.85    5.78    5.67    5.57    5.44    5.32    5.21 

44    6.35    6.33  6.30    6.23    6.19    6.12    6.04    5.97    5.86    5.76    5.62    5.50    5.37 

46    6.55    6.53  6.50    6.43    6.38    6.31     6.24    6.16    6.06    5.96    5.81    5.68    5.54 

48    6.75    6.72  6.69    6.63    6.58    6.51    6.43    6.35    6.25    6.15    5.99    5.86    5.70 

50    6.95    6.92  6.89    6.83    6.78    6.71    6.63    6.55    6.45    6.35    6.18    6.04    5.86 

52    7.18    7.15  7.11     7.05    7.00    6.98    6.84    6.75    6.65    6.54    6.37    6.23    6.05 

54    7.41     7.38  7.33    7.27    7.22    7.14    7.05    6.96    6.85    6.73    6.56    6.42    6.24 

56    7.65    7.60  7.56    7.49    7.43    7.36    7.27    7.16    7.04    6.92    6.75    6.61    6.42 

58    7.88    7.83  7.78    7.71     7.65    7.57    7.48    7.37    7.24    7.11    6.94    6.80    6.61 

60    8.11    8.06  8.00    7.93    7.87    7.79    7.69    7.57    7.44    7.30    7.13    6.98    6.80 

.62    8.34    8.29  8.23    8.16    8.10    8.01    7.91     7.79    7.67    7.53    7.37    7.22    7.05 

64    8.57    8.52  8.46    8.39    8.32    8.23    8.13    8.02    7.90    7.76    7.61     7.47    7.30 

66    8.79    8.74  8.68    8.62    8.55    8.45    8.35    8.24    8.12    7.98    7.84    7.71     7.55 

68    9.02    8.97  8.91     8.85    8.77    8.67    8.57    8.47    8.35    8.21    8.08    7.96    7.80 

70    9.25    9.20  9.14    9.08    9.00    3-89    8.79    8.69    8.58    8.44    8.32    8.20    8.05 

72    9.54    9.49  9.43    9.36    9.28    9.18    9.08    8.97    8.85    8.72    8.60    8.49    8.36 

74    9.83    9.77  9.72    9.65    9.57    9.47    9.37    9.25    9.13    9.00    8.87    8.78    8.67 

76  10.12  10.06  10.00    9.93    9.85    9.75    9.65    9.54     9.40    9.27    9.15    9.06    8.98 

78  10.41  10.34  10.29  10.22  10.14  10.04    9.94    9.82    9.68    9.55    9.42    9.35    9.29 

80  10.70  10.63  10.58  10.50  10.42  10.33  10*23  10.10    9.95    9.83    9.70    9.64    9.60 

82  11.04  10.97  10.92  10.84  10.76  10.66  10.55  10.42  10.27  10.16  10.05  10.01  10.05 

84  11.38  11.31  11.26  11.18  11.09  10.90  10.88  10.74  10.59  10.48  10.39  10.38  10.50 

86  11.71  11.65  11.60  11.52  11.43  11.32  11.20  11.06  10.92  10.81  10.74  10.76  10.95 

88  12.05  11.99  11.94  11.86  11.76  11.65  11.53  11.38  11.24  11.13  11.08  11.13  11.40 

90  12.39  12.33  12.28  12.20  12.10  11.98  11.85  11.70  11.56  11.46  11.43  11.50  11.85 

92  12.75  12.70  12.65  12.58  12.48  12.36  12.24  12.10  11.98  11.90  11.88  12.00  12.38 

94  13.12  13.07  13.02  12.95  12.86  12.75  12.63  12.50  12.40  12.34  12.34  12.50  12.91 

96  13.48  13.44  13.38  13.33  13.24  13.13  13.02  12.90  12.81  12J7  12.79  13.00  13.44 

98  13.85  13.81  13.75  13.70  13.62  13.52  13.41  13.30  13.23  13.21  13.25  13.50  13.97 

100  14.21  14.18  14.12  .14.08  14.00  13.90  13.80  13.70  13.65  13.65  13.70  14.00  14.50 


loia 


Fast  Colors  for  Silk 

Helindone  Colors  Alizarine  Colors 

Aniline  Colors  Dianil  Colors 

Specialties  for  Silk  Printing 


Farbwerke  -  Hoechst 
Company 

FORMERLY 

H.  A.  METZ  &  CO. 

Sole  Agents  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  for  the 

Farbwerke  vorm.  Meister,  Lucius  and  Bruening 


New  York,  122  Hudson  St. 

BOSTON         -        -  -        140-142  Oliver  Street 

PHILADELPHIA    -  104  Chestnut  Street 

PROVIDENCE  23  S.  Main  Street 

CHICAGO    -  -     317  N.  Clark  Street 

CHARLOTTE  210  S.  Tryon  Street 

SAN  FRANCISCO  -             20-22  Natoma  Street 

ATLANTA       -  -    1418  Empire  Building 

MONTREAL       -  30  St.  Francois  Xavier  Street 


iO2a 


Table  of  Worsted  Regain 
For  Various  Temperatures  and  Percentages 
of  Humidity 

DEGREES  FAHRENHEIT 

A. 

35 

40 

45        50        55       60 

65 

70 

75 

80 

85 

90 

95 

100 

15 

7.7 

7.7 

7.6     7.5     7.4     7.2 

7.1 

6.9 

6.8 

6.6 

6.4 

6.2 

6.0 

5.7 

20 

9.1 

9.1 

8.9     8.9     8.7     8.5 

8.4 

8.2 

8.0 

7.8 

7.5 

7.3 

7.1 

6.9 

25 

10.4 

10.3 

10.2   10.0     9.9     9.7 

9.5 

9.3 

9.1 

8.9 

8.7 

8.4 

8.1 

7.8 

30 

11.4 

11.3 

11.2   11.0   10.8  10.7 

10.5 

10.2 

10.0 

9.8 

9.5 

9.2 

8.9 

8.7 

35 

12.4 

12.2 

12.1   11.9  11.7  11.5 

11.3 

11.1 

10.9 

10.6 

10.3 

10.2 

9.8 

9.5 

40 

13.3 

13.2 

13.0  12.8   12.6  12.4 

12.2 

12.0 

11.7 

11.5 

11.2 

10.9 

10.7 

10.4 

42 

13.7 

13.5 

13.4  13.2  13.0   12.8 

12.6 

12.3 

12.1 

11.8 

11.5 

11.3 

11.0 

10.7 

44 

14.1 

13.9 

13.8   13.6  13.4  13.2 

12.9 

12.7 

12.4 

12.2 

11.9 

11.6 

11.3 

11.1 

46 

14.5 

14.3 

14.1   13.9  13.7   13.5 

13.3 

13.0 

12.8 

12.5 

12.2 

11.9 

11.7 

11.4 

48 

14.8 

14.7 

14.5   14.3  14.1   13.9 

13.6 

13.4 

13.1 

12.8 

12.6 

12.3 

12.0 

11.8 

50 

15.2 

15.1 

14.9  14.7   14.5  14.3 

14.0 

13.8 

13.5 

13.2 

12.9 

12.6 

12.3 

12.1 

52 

15.6 

15.5 

15.3   15.1   14.9  14.6 

14.4 

14.1 

13.8 

13.5 

13.3 

13.0 

12.7 

12.4 

54 

16.0 

15.9 

15.7   15.5  15.3   15.0 

14.7 

14.5 

14.2 

13.9 

13.6 

13.3 

13.0 

12.8 

56 

16.5 

16.3 

16.1   15.9  15.6  15.4 

15.1 

14.8 

14.5 

14.2 

14.0 

13.7 

13.4 

13.1 

58 

16.9 

16.7 

16.5  16.3  16.0  15.7 

15.5 

15.2 

14.9 

14.6 

14.3 

14.0 

13.7 

13.5 

60 

17.3 

17-1 

16.9  16.7  16.4  16.1 

15.9 

15.6 

15.2 

14.9 

14.7 

14.4 

14.1 

13.8 

62 

17.7 

17.5 

17.3  17.1   16.8  16.5 

16.2 

15.9 

15.6 

15.3 

15.1 

14.8 

14.5 

14.2 

64 

18.1 

17.9 

17.7   17.5  17.2  16.9 

16.6 

16.3 

16.0 

15.7 

15.4 

15.1 

14.8 

14.5 

66 

18.6 

18.4 

18.1   17.9  17.6  17.3 

16.9 

16.7 

16.3 

16.1 

15.8 

15.5 

15.2 

14.9 

68 

19.0 

18.8 

18.5  18.3  18.0  17.6 

17.3 

17.0 

16.7 

16.4 

16.1 

15.9 

15.6 

15.2 

70 

19.4 

19.2 

18.9   18.7   18.3  18.0 

17.7 

17.4 

17.1 

16.8 

16.5 

16.2 

15.9 

15.6 

72 

19.9 

19.7 

19.4   19.1  18.8  18.4 

18.1 

17.8 

17.5 

17.2 

16.9 

16.6 

16.3 

16.0 

74 

20.4 

20.1 

19.9  19.6  19.2   18.9 

18.5 

18.2 

17.9 

17.6 

17.3 

17.0 

16.7 

16.5 

76 

20.8 

20.6 

20.4  20.0   19.7  19.3 

18.9 

18.6 

18.3 

17.9 

17.6 

17.4 

17.1 

16.9 

78 

21.3 

21.1 

20.9  20.5  20.1   19.7 

19.4 

19.0 

18.7 

18.3 

18.0 

17.8 

17.5 

17.3 

80 

21.8 

21.5 

21.3  20.9  20.6  20.2 

19.8 

19.4 

19.1 

18.7 

18.4 

18.2 

17.9 

17.7 

82 

22.3 

22.1 

21.8  21.4  21.0  20.6 

20.2 

19.8 

19.5 

19.1 

18.9 

18.7 

18.5 

18.3 

84 

22.9 

22.6 

22.4  22.0  21.5  21.1 

20.7 

20.2 

19.9 

19.6 

19.3 

19.2 

19.1 

18.9 

86 

23.4 

23,2 

22.9  22.5  22.0  21.6 

21.1 

20.7 

20.4 

20.1 

19.8 

19.7 

19.6 

19.5 

88 

24.0 

23.7 

23.4  23.0  22.6  22.1 

21.7 

21.3 

20.9 

20.6 

20.4 

20.3 

20;  2 

£0.2 

90 

24.5 

24.2 

23.9  23.5  23.1  22.7 

22.2 

21.8 

21.4 

21.1 

20.9 

20.9 

20.8 

20.8 

92 

25.2 

24.9 

24.6  24.2  23.7  23.3 

22.8 

22.4 

22.1 

21.7 

21.6 

21.5 

21.6 

21.5 

94 

2S.9 

25.6 

25.3  24.9  24.4  23.9 

23.4 

23.0 

22.8 

22.4 

22.3 

22.2 

22.3 

22.3 

96 

26.6 

26.3 

26.0  25.6  25.1  24.6 

24.1 

23.7 

23.5 

23.1 

23.0 

23.0 

23.1 

23.1 

98 

27.4 

27.1 

26.7  26.3  25.9  25.4 

24.9 

24.5 

24.2 

24.0 

23.8 

23.8 

23.9 

23.8 

100 

28.2 

27.8 

27.5  27.1  26.7  26.2 

25.8 

25.4 

25.0 

24.8 

24.7 

24.7 

24.6 

24.6 

A.  KLIPSTEIN,  PRES.  E.  C.  KL1PSTEIN,  TREAS. 

W.  H.  JACKSON,  VICE  PRES. 

A.  KLIPSTEIN  &  CO. 

ESTABLISHED     1872 
MAIN  OFFICE 

644=654  GREENWICH  STREET 
NEW  YORK 

BRANCHES 

p»«         *»AI~  ru«,4*  R~  Boston,  283-285  Congress  St. 

Represented «  Canada  By  Philad;lphia>       50.52  N.  Front  St. 

A.  KLIPSTEIN  &  CO.,  Limited     Providence,         I  \  Pine  St. 

Mnntroal  t?  St  P^or  <5f  Chicago,  J45-J47W.KinzieSt. 

real,  J2  St.  Pete  St.  charlotte,  N.C  J7  East  4th  St. 

Dyestuffs,  Chemicals  and  Finishing  Materials 

Caustic  Potash,  Formic  Acid,  Carbon  Tetrachloride 

Chrome  Chloride 

Soluble  Oils,  Gums,  Glycerine,  Potato  Starch 
Wheat  Starch  and  Finishing  Compounds 

Rhodamine,    Chinoline    Yellow,    Violet    Crystals 
and  All  the  Coal  Tar  Dyes  Made  by  the 

SOCIETY  OF  CHEfllCAL  INDUSTRY 
Basle,  Switzerland 

flanufacturers  of  the  Celebrated 

CIBA  and   CIBANON 

FAST  VAT  DYES 


TABLE  FOR  NUMBERING  COTTON  YARN  AND  SPUN 
SILK  BY  WEIGHT  IN  GRAINS  OF  J20  YARDS. 


Num- 
ber of 
Yarn. 

120  yards 
Weight 
in  Grains. 

Num- 
ber of 
Yarn. 

120  yards 
Weight 
in  Grains. 

Num- 
ber of 
Yarn. 

120  yards 
Weight 
in  Grains. 

Num- 
ber of 
Yarn. 

1  20  yards 
Weight 
in  Grains. 

I 

1000.00 

51 

19.61 

101 

9.90 

151 

6.62 

2 

500.00 

52 

19.23 

102 

9.80 

152 

6.58 

3 

333.33 

53 

18.87 

103 

9.71 

153 

6.54 

4 

250.00 

51 

18.52 

104 

9.62 

154 

6.49 

5 

200.00 

55 

18.18 

105 

9.52 

155 

6.45 

6 

166.67 

56 

17.86 

106 

9.43 

156 

6.41 

7 

142.86 

57 

17  55 

107 

9.35 

157 

6.37 

8 

125.00 

53 

17.24 

108 

9.26 

158 

6.33 

9 

111.11 

59 

16.95 

109 

9.17 

159 

6.29 

10 

100.00 

60 

16.67 

110 

9.09 

160 

6.25 

11 

90.91 

61 

16.39 

111 

9.01 

161 

6.21 

12 

83.33 

62 

16.13 

112 

8.93 

162 

6.17 

13 

76.92 

63 

15.87 

113 

8.85 

163 

6.13 

14 

71.43 

64 

15.62 

114 

8.77 

164 

6.10 

15 

66.67 

65 

15.38 

115 

8.70 

165 

6.06 

16 

62.50 

66 

15.15 

116 

862 

166 

6.02 

17 

58.82 

67 

14.93 

117 

8.55 

167 

5.99 

18 

55.56 

68 

14.71 

118 

8.47 

168 

5.95 

1* 

52.63 

69 

14.49 

119 

8.40 

169 

5.92 

20 

50.00 

70 

14.29 

120 

8.33 

170 

5.88 

21 

47.62 

71 

14.08 

121 

8.26 

171 

5.85 

22 

45.45 

72 

13.89 

122 

8.20 

172 

5.81 

23 

43.48 

73 

13.70 

123 

8.13 

173 

5.78 

24 

41,67 

74 

13.51 

124 

8.06 

174 

5.75 

25 

40.00 

75 

13.33-- 

-4«5 

8.00 

175 

5.71 

26 

38.46 

76 

13.16 

126 

7.94 

176 

5.68 

27 

37.04 

77 

12.99 

127 

7.87 

177 

5.65 

28 

35.71 

78 

12.82 

128 

7.81 

178 

5.62 

29 

34.48 

79 

12.66 

129 

7.75 

179 

5.59 

30 

33.33 

80 

12.50 

130 

7.69 

180 

5.56 

31 

32.26 

81 

12.35 

131 

7.63 

181 

5.52 

32 

31,25 

82 

12.20 

132 

7.58 

182 

5.49 

33 

30.30 

83 

12.05 

133 

7.52    ' 

183 

5.46 

34 

29.41 

84 

11.90 

134 

7.46 

184 

5.43 

35 

28.57 

85 

11.76 

135 

7.41 

185 

5.41 

36 

27.78 

86 

11.63 

136 

7.35 

186 

5.38 

37 

27.03 

87 

11.49 

137 

7.30 

187 

5.35 

38 

26.32 

88 

11.36 

138 

7.25 

188 

5.32 

39 

25.64 

89 

11.24. 

139 

7.19 

189 

5.29 

40 

25.00 

90 

11.11' 

140 

7.14 

190 

5.26 

41 

24.39 

91 

10.99 

141 

7.09 

191 

5.24 

42 

23.81 

92 

10.87 

142 

7.04 

192 

5.21 

43 

23.26 

93 

10.75 

143 

6.99 

193 

5.18 

44 

22.73 

94 

10.64 

144 

6.94 

194 

5.15 

45 

22.22 

95 

10.53 

145 

6.90 

195 

5.13 

46 

21.74 

96 

10.42 

146 

6.85 

196 

5.10 

47 

21.28 

97 

10.31 

147 

6.80 

197 

,5.08 

48 

20.83 

98 

10.20 

148 

6.76 

198 

5.05 

49 

20.41 

99 

10.10 

149 

6.71 

199 

5.03 

50 

20.00 

100 

10.00 

150 

6.67 

200 

5.00 

IO5a 


THE 

Webster  Vacuum  System 

OF 

Steam  Heating 

Has  been  installed  in  many  of  the  largest  SILK  and  other  TEXTILE 
MANUFACTURING  PLANTS  in  this  country. 

The  Simplicity  of  Construction,  the  Efficiency  in  Operation,  and  the 
Economy  in  Fuel  Consumption  have  proven  the  wisdom  of  the  selection 
of  the  WEBSTER  SYSTEM  for  installation  in  the  mills  following: 

CHENEY   BROS.,          ....          So.  Manchester,  Conn. 
ROGERS  &  THOMPSON,        -         -  West  New  York,  N.  Y. 

GIVERNAUD  BROS.,  ....  Norwich,  Conn. 

GIVERNAUD  BROS.,     ....  Hackensack,  N.  J. 

GIVERNAUD  BROS.,  -  Homestead,   N.  J. 

GIVERNAUD  BROS.,      -          -          -  West  Hoboken,  N.  J. 

GIVERNAUD  BROS.,  Allentown,    Pa. 

SCHWARZENBACH,  HUBER  CO  ,        -        W.    Hoboken,  N.  J. 
SCHWARZENBACH,   HUBER  CO  ,  -  Altoona,   Pa. 

SCHWARZENBACH,   HUBER  CO.,         -          -        Bayonne,    N.  J. 
BELDING  BROS.    CO.,         -  Northampton,   Mass. 

ALLENTOWN  SILK  MILLS,  -          -          -         Allentown,    Pa. 

R.  &  H.   SIMON,  SILK  MILLS,  -         -       Union  Hill,   N.  J. 

R.   &  H.  SIMON,  SILK  MILLS,     -  Easton,   Pa. 

SAUQUOIT  SILK  MFG.    CO.,      -          -          -          Philadelphia,   Pa. 

BAER  SILK  MILLS, Berwick,    Pa. 

BAER  SILK  MILLS,  Lehighton,   Pa. 

Warren  Webster  &  Company 

CAMDEN,  NEW  JERSEY 

Established   1888 

ATLANTA  INDIANAPOLIS  SALT  LAKE  CITY 

BOSTON  KANSAS  CITY  SAN  FRANCISCO 

CHICAGO  LOS  ANGELES  SEATTLE 

CINCINNATI  MINNEAPOLIS  ST.   LOUIS 

CHARLOTTE  NEW  ORLEANS  WASHINGTON 

CLEVELAND  NEW  YORK  WILKES-BARRE 

DENVER  PITTSBURGH  HOUSTON 


io6a 


PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  VARIOUS  YARN  COUNTS. 

The  Denier  Scale  for  Raw-silk. 

The  standard  measure  is  a  skein  of  450  metres,  weighed  with 
weights  of  5  centigrams.  The  number  of  these  that  it  takes  to 
balance  the  weight  of  the  skein  is  the  size  or  denierage  of  the  silk. 
In  the  United  States,  the  denier  scale  is  used  for  raw-silk  only.  On 
the  Continent,  both  raw  and  thrown  silks  are  figured  in  deniers.  A 
1  denier  silk  (there  is  none  so  fine  in  practice)  figures  out  4,464,528 
yards  per  lb.;  a  14  denier  silk  is  one-fourteenth  of  this  yardage,  and 
so  on.  Of  these  5  centigram  weights — called  deniers — 566.99  make 
1  oz  avoirdupois.  To  reduce  deniers  to  drams,  divide  the  deniers  by 
17.44. 

Cotton  Yarn  Scale. 

The  hank  is  840  yards,  and  the  number  of  hanks  in  a  pound  gives 
the  count.    Thus,  number  20  will  have  20  times  840  yards  per  pound. 
In  ply  yarns,  %o  is  equal  to  M.O.  and  %o  would  be  the  same. 
English  Spun-silk  Scale. 

This  count  is  the  same  as  the  cotton  yarn  scale,  except  that  the 
ply  yarns  are  stated  differently.  In  cotton,  a  %QS  is  composed  of  two 
ends  of  ^o's  doubled  and  twisted,  equalling  a  Mo-  In  spun  silk,  a 
%o's  is  a  2-ply  yarn  counting  20's  in  the  2  ply  state. 

Continental  Scale  for  Spun  Yarns  (Schappe). 

In  this,  the  count  represents  the  number  of  thousand  metres  per 
kilogramme.     The  length  of  the  metre  is  39.370432  inches.     The  weight 
of  the  kilogramme  is  2.2046  Ibs.     In  this  count,  Moo  measures  49.619 
yards  per  pound.    %oo  counts  the  same  as  Moo- 
Linen  Yarn  Scale. 

The  hank,  or  lea,  is  300  yards,  and  the  number  of  hanks  in  a  pound 
gives   the   count.     A  two-ply  yarn   is   half  the   count  of  the   single. 
Thus,  %oo  equals  %o,  with  15,000  yards  to  the  pound. 
Philadelphia  Woolen  Yarn  Scale. 

This  is  the  same  as  the  linen  scale,  except  that  the  size  is  expressed 
in  "cuts."    A  30  cut  yarn  measures  9,000  yards  per  pound. 
New  England  Woolen  Yarn  Scale. 

This  is  based  on  the  "run"  of  1,600  yards  per  pound.  A  5  run  yarn 
will  be  8,000  yards  per  pound. 

Worsted  Yarn  Scale. 

The  hank  is  560  yards,  and  the  number  of  hanks  to  the  pound  is 
the  count.  A  ^o  measures  22,400  yards  per  lb.;  a  ?4o  is  half  that,  or 
11,200  yards. 

The  Dram  Scale  for  Thrown  Silks. 

This  is  the  English  net  silk  scale,  and  thrown  silks  are  sized  by 
it  in  the  United  States.  The  hank  is  1,000  yards,  and  the  number  of 
drams  that  such  a  hank  weighs  is  the  count  of  the  yarn.  There  are 
256  drams  in  a  pound,  so  a  1  dram  silk,  representing  one  hank  of 
1,000  yards  would  run  256,000  yards  to  the  pound.  A  1.70  dram  would 
be  256,000-5-1.70  =  150,588  yards.  To  reduce  drams  to  deniers  mul- 
tiply the  drams  by  17.44. 


Artificial  silks  are  sized  in  deniers. 

Mohair  and  camels'  hair  yarns  take  worsted  sizings. 

Harness  ^  twines,  and  other  special  hard-twisted  yarns,  are  short- 
ened by  their  take-up  in  twist  below  their  nominal  counts. 

Novelty  yarns,  tinsels,  chenilles,  etc.,  are  sold  at  their  stated  yard- 
age per  pound,  whatever  it  may  be. 


SPINNING  SPINDLES 

DRIVEN  BY 

PERFORATED  STEEL  BANDS 

Every  Spinner  of  Texile  Material  Desires 
The  highest  possible  Spindle  Speed 

(increasing  production  and  lowering  cost) 

Absolute  Constancy  of  Spindle  Speed 

(reducing  breakage  and  giving  larger  product) 

Unvarying  Uniformity  of  Twist 

(increasing  the  value  of  every  yarn  spun) 

Minimum  Consumption  of  Power 

fallowing  more  spindles  to  be  driven  per  H.  P.) 

Low  Cost  of  Upkeep 

(ensuring  economy  of  operation) 

Impossibility  of  Accident 

( providing Jor  the  safety  of  operation) 

Ease  of  Adjustment,  Inspection,  Oiling  and  Cleaning 

(permitting  of  great  saving  in  labor) 

Unquestioned  Reliability  under  all  Circumstances 
THE  ONLY  DRIVE  MEETING  ALL  OF  THESE  REQUIREMENTS 
IS  THE  PERFORATED  STEEL  BAND  POSITIVE  DRIVE 


For  Silk 

For  Cotton 

For  Worsted 


Throwsters 

Spinners 

Spinners 


THE  BROWN  SPIN-WRIGHT  CO. 

32  Union  Square,  New  York 
To  see  this  improvement  is  to  realize  its  importance 


io8a 


TABLE     SHOWING    RELATIVE     LENGTHS     OF 

AUNES    AND    YARDS 

(BROAD   SILKS  ARE  PUT  UP  IN  FOLDS  OF  1   1-4  YARDS   EQUAL  1  AUNE) 

AUKM 

0 

Yd.. 

2.8 
38 
5    8 
•/• 

78 

1 

Aune. 

10 

Yd. 

12-4 
12-5 
12-6 
12-7 
13-1 
13-2 
13-3 
13-4 

Aune. 

20 

Yds. 

25 
25-1 

2.V2 

25-3 
25    5 

•j5-  u 

25    7 

ze 

Aunts 

30 

Yds 

tr-t 

37  -  .0 
38-2 

40 

Yd.. 

'M  :i 

60    5 
60    (i 

Aune. 

50 

Yd.. 

•    4 

.1!     '. 

63    1 

HM    :: 

Aun«. 

60 

Yds 

-,:, 
7',,    I 

-,;,  .-, 

75    6 

Aune» 

70 

_!Sl 

J8-1 
88-2 

A""" 

80 

00 
00-1 
00-2 

OO-6 
00-7 
01 

A-™« 

90 

JTdi. 

12-7 
113-1 
113-2 
113   3 
113-4 

38-4 

H 

63-4 

76 

88    4 

1 

1-2 
1-3 

1-5 
1-7 
2 
2-1 
2-2 

11 

13-7 
14 
14-1 

14    5 
14-6 

21 

26-2 

27 
27-1 
27    2 

31 

39-3 
39-4 
39-5 
39-6 

41 

M    3 
51-5 

52 
52    1 
62-2 

51 

63    6 

64-5 
64-6 

61 

77-1 
77-2 

71 

S9-6 

81 

01-2 
01-3 
01-4 
01-6 

02-1 

91 

13  7 

14-3 
114  4 
114-6 
114  6 

2 

2-5 

2-7 
3-1 
3-2 
3-3 
3-4 

12 

Ifl 
15-1 
15-2 
15-3 

6 

22 

27-4 
27-6 

£-1 

52-4 
52-6 

65 
65-1 

77    4 

HO 
90-1 

82 

10B-4 
102-6 
102-6 
102-7 
103-1 

92 

16-1 
116-2 
115-3 
116-6 

32 

jtj 

42 

52-7 

52 

65-3 
65    5 

62 

77-7 
78-1 

72 

9o-e 

WO-5 

284 

41    ' 

53-4 

66 

78-4 

9, 

03^t 

116-7 

lie 

3 

3-6 
3-7 
4 
4-1 

4-5 
4-6 

13 

6-2 
6-3 
6-4 
B    5 
67 
7 
7-1 
7-2 

23 

28   6 
28-7 
29 
28-1 
28-3 
29-4 
29-6 
29-6 

33 

4  -B 
4  -S 
4  -4 
4   -5 
4   -7 
«• 
42-1 
42   2 

43 

53  a 

53-7 
54 
54-1 
54-3 
64-4 
64-5 
54-6 

53 

66-2 
66-3 
66    4 
66-5 
66-7 
67 

67-2 

63 

78-7 

79-1 
78-3 
7B-4 
79-6 
79-6 

73 

)l-6 
91-7 
92 
92-1 

83 

os-e 

03-7 
04 
04-1 
04-3 
04-4 
04-6 
04-6 

93 

.16-6 
110-7- 
117 
117-1 
117-Z 

4 

5-1 
5-2 
6-8 

5-5 

5-7 

14 

76 
7-7 

8    3 
8-4 

24 

30 

3O-  3 

30    0 
30-7 
31 

34 

42-4 
42-5 

3*1 
13-4 

44 

65 
56-1 
55-2 

55-5 

55-7 

54 

«7    4 

67   7 
68-1 

64 

!0-5 

*0-7 
81 

74 

92-4 

»z-e 

92-7 
93-1 
93-2 
93-3 
93-4 

84 

06-1 
06-2 
05-3 
06-6 

os-e 

06-7 

94 

17-6 
117-7 
118-1 
118-2 
118-8 
118-4 

5 

6-2 
6-3 
0-4 
6-5 
6-7 

7-2 

15 

8-6 
8-7 
9 
9-1 
9-3 
9-4 
9-5 
D-« 

25 

31-5 

31-7 
32 

32-1 
32-2 

35 

43-7 

44-3 

44  •-> 
44-5 
44-6 

45 

56-2 
56-3 
56-4 
5B-5 
56-7 

55 

68-6 
68-7 
69 
69    1 
09-3 
69-4 
69-5 

65 

81-2 
81-3 
81-4 
81-6 
81-7 
82 
82-1 
82-2 

75 

93-6 

84 
94-1 
94-3 

84-6 

85 

06-2 
00-3 
00-4 
06-6 
00-7 
07 
07-1 

95 

118-0 
118-7 

lie 

UB-1 
119-3 
118-4 
119-6 

ne-e 

6 

7-4 
7    5 
7-ti 
7    7 
8-1 
8    2 
8-3 
84 

16 

20 
20-1 
20-2 

uc  3 

20-  (I 
20-7 
21 

26 

32-4 
32   5 
3y    6 

33    4 

36 

45    2 
46-3 
45   5 
45    6 
45-7 
4« 

46 

57-4 
57    5 
67-6 
57-7 
68-1 
58-2 
58-3 
08-4 

56 

70 
70-1 
70-2 
70-3 
70-5 
70-6 
70-7 

66 

82-4 
82    5 
82-6 
82    7 
83-1 
83-2 
83-3 

•H 

76 

85- 
96-1 
96-2 
95-3 
95    6 
95-6 
95-7 

86 

07-4 
07-6 
07-6 
07-7 
08-1 
08-8 
08-3 
08-4 

96 

120 
120-1 

L2O-3 
120-6 

120-7 
121 

7 

8-7 
9 
B    1 
0-3 
11    4 
U   5 
9   « 

17 

21-2 
21-B 
21-4 
21-6 

81-7 

22 
22-1 
22-Z 

27 

33    6 
33    7 
34 

34-1 

«4    6 
34-6 

37 

46-2 
46    3 

* 

47-1 
47-2 

47 

68-7 

',9-1 
09-3 
5H-4 
5-I-5 
50-6 

57 

7    -7 

72-1 
72-2 

67 

84-1 
84  -3 
84-4 
84-5 
84-  (1 

77 

96-5 
96-7 
87 
97    1 

87 

08-7 
09 
09-1 
09-3 
09-4 
09-5 

97 

121-2 
121-3 
121-4 

122 
122-1 
122-2 

8 

0 
0-1 
0-2 
0-3 

0-6 

0-7 

1 

18 

22-4 
22-5 
22-fi 
22-7 
23    1 
23-2 
23-3 
23-4 

28 

H 

35-1 

:<:,  :: 
35  a 

3.r>-7 

38 

47-4 
47-5 
47-6 
47-7 
48-1 
48    2 

48 

GO 
6O-1 
6O-8 

C.O-6 

GO    7 
61 

58 

72   4 
72-5 
72-6 
72-7 

68 

H!. 
86    3 

H;,  <i 

78 

!J7    7 

»a-i 
M-l 

88 

0-2 
0-3 
0-6 
0-0 
0-7 
1 

98 

122-4 
122-6 

123-2 

sa 

73-i 

86 

98-4 

9 

1-S 

1-3 
1-4 
1-5 
1-7 

£-2 

19 

23-  B 
23-7 
24 
24-1 
24-3 
24-4 
24    .'. 
24    0 

29 

30    2 
30-3 
3U    4 

l«-e 

39 

48-6 
4B-7 
411 
49-1 
49    3 

49    .', 

49 

<;i-2 

<il-3 
01-4 
Gl-5 

59 

73    6 
73-7 
74 
74    1 
74   3 
74-4 
74-5 
74    0 

69 

86    2 
8G-3 
80    4 

86  r, 

87 
87    2 

79 

W-  1 
W>    3 

t*-4 

99-  .', 
99-1. 

89 

1-2 
-3 

-5 
2-2 

99 

123-6 
123-7 

124-3 
124-4 
124-6 
124-6 

A.  W.  Buhlmann 

Textile- Engineer 


200  Fifth  Avenue 
New  York 

Silk  Finishing  Machinery 

for     skein     and     piece-dyed     fabrics, 
chiffons,  mousselines,  voiles,  crepes 

and  tulle  de  soie; 
Velvets  and  Plushes 

Latest    Creations    in    Dyeing 
Machinery  for  Skein  and  Piece 

Installation  of 
Complete  Finishing  Plants 

Consult  me 


noa 


IMPROVED   REEL 

FOR 

SILK,  COTTON,  AND  WORSTED 

MADE  36,  45  AND  54  INCHES 


Machines  for  finding  twist,  and  contraction  of  the  thread  caused 
by  twist. 

Machines  for  finding  strength  and  elasticity  of  yarn-cloth-paper:- 
capacity  400  IBs. 

Direct  warpers  for  narrow  goods,  ribbons,  tapes,  galloons,  etc. 

Ribbon  blocking  machines. 

Spool  winding  machines  for  narrow  fabrics. 

Warper  creels,  largest  number  of  spools  in  smallest  floor  space, 

with  equalization  of  tension. 

Special  machines  designed  and  built. 

CHARLES  H.  KNAPP 

Wait  and  Rye  Streets,  -  Paterson,  N.  J. 


ma 


The  Textile-Finishing 
Machinery  Company 

Providence,  R.    I. 

New  York  Office,  30  Church  St.,  'Phone  4962  Cortlandt 


3  Roll  Friction  Calender 

Machinery 

FOR 

Dyeing,  Drying,  Printing 

AND 

Finishing 

Silk  and  Cotton  Goods 


ii2a 


CUSTOMS   PREVAILING  IN  THE   ENGLISH   YARN   TRADE. 


UNDERSTANDING  presumed  to  exist  between  buyers  and  sellers  of  yarn 
in  the  absence  of  any  special  stipulations: 

SIZE  OR  COUNT.  It  being  impossible  to  spin  and  reel  cotton  or 
other  textile  fibres  with  mathematical  accuracy,  that  is  to  say  to  in- 
sure that  any  given  size  shall  contain  the  precise  number  of  yards  or 
metres  the  size  calls  for,  it  is  generally  understood  that  the  spinner 
shall  supply  the  full  yardage  called  for  by  the  size,  irrespective  of 
weight,  whether  he  delivers  in  bundle,  warp  or  otherwise.  The  limits 
within  which  spinners  are  expected  to  hold  their  yarns  are  2^  per 
cent,  either  way.  That  is  to  say,  in  the  case  of — say  a  No.  100— a 
spinner  is  considered  to  have  spun  with  as  great  accuracy  as  can  be 
reasonably  expected,  if  the  yarn  does  not  average  below  97l/2  or  above 
102^.  If  a  yarn  tendered  exceeds  these  limits  in  either  direction 
it  is  usually  optional  with  the  buyer  to  accept  the  yarn  with  an  al- 
lowance for  any  excess  over  the  2y2  per  cent,  latitude,  or  to  reject  the 
yarn  on  account  of  unreasonable  irregularity. 

SCALE  WEIGHT.  This  is  the  weight  as  registered  by  an  ordinary 
weighing-scale.  As  all  textile  fibres  contain  a  proportion  of  moisture, 
which  varies  according  to  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere,  the  scale 
weight  of  a  perfectly  intact  bundle  will  alter  from  one  day  to  another. 
Consequently  selling  by  scale  weight,  although  the  simplest  method, 
is  a  fruitful  source  of  discussion  between  buyer  and  seller. 

CALCULATION  WEIGHT.  This  is  the  theoretical  weight  any  given  num- 
ber of  yards  of  a  size  should  weigh.  Thus,  No.  100  Cotton  should 
contain  100  skeins  of  840  yards,  or  84,000  per  1  Ib.  Consequently 
when  selling  No.  100  by  calculation  weight,  a  spinner  must  charge  for 
1  Ib.  for  every  84,000  yards  he  delivers.  If  the  yarn  is  spun  on  the 
coarse  side  he  will  have  to  give  rather  more  than  1  Ib.  scale  weight  to 
make  a  "calculation  Ib."  and  vice-versa.  This  method  of  selling  is 
fairer  to  both  parties  than  scale  weight,  as  it  insures  the  buyer  obtain- 
ing the  full  length  he  requires,  while  the  latitude  being  limited  to  2l/2 
per  cent,  either  way,  prevents  any  possibility  of  abuse. 

CONDITION  WEIGHT.  This  is  the  most  accurate  and  fair  weight,  be- 
ing determined  by  an  impartial  establishment  termed  a  Conditioning 
House.  By  means  of  precise  and  special  apparatus,  the  weight  is 
reduced  to  that  which  the  yarns,  etc.,  should  have  when  containing 
the  standard  amounts  of  humidity,  normal  to  the  various  materials 
which  are  the  following: 

Silk,  in  its  normal  condition,  contains  humidity    9.9099% 

Wool,      "         "                                   "  "          15.4334% 

Cotton,   "                                             "  "  7.8341% 

Linen,  10.7143% 

N.  B. — In  general  it  will  be  found  most  satisfactory  to  refer  all 
discussions  as  to  weight,  accuracy  of  spinning,  elasticity,  amount  of 
gum  in  silk,  etc.,  to  the  Conditioning  Works,  where  the  special  appa- 
ratus put  up  for  these  purposes  ensures  absolute  accuracy,  such  as 
cannot  be  obtained  by  other  means. 


EVERYTHING   in   card-cutting 
machinery  for  jacquard  cards. 

A  Power  Piano  Machine  that  increases  output  25% 
over  older  methods  in  cutting  from  the  design. 

An  Automatic  Lacer  with  output  of  about  18,000 
cards  per  day  of  ten  hours. 

A  Power  Repeater  that  duplicates  about  2,000  cards 
per  hour. 

Send  sample  card  for  quotations 


JOHN  ROYLE  &  SONS 

PATERSON,  N.  J. 


Plain  and  Friction  Calender  for  Ribbons 

JOHN].  CAVAGNARO 

Engineer  and  Machinist 
HARRISON,  N.  J. 

SPECIALTY    OF    SILK    AND    COTTON 
FINISHING  AND  EMBOSSING  MACHINERY 

SINCE  1881 
New  York  Office  and  Shop :    255-5 7  CENTRE  STREET 


SCBANTON  SILK  MACHINE  CO. 

BUILDERS  OF  SILK  THROWING 
MACHINERY 


SCRANTON, 


PENNSYLVANIA 


SECTIONAL    REEL 


•QUICK  TWIST    CHANGE"  SPINNER 


HARD  AND  SOFT  SILK  WINDERS 

JACK  AND  HIGH  SPEED  DOUBLERS 

SPINNERS  AND  TWISTERS 

ACCURATE  POWER  REELS 

REEL  MILLS 
STEAM  BUNDLING  PRESSES 


Write  for  information — you  will  be  interested 


n6a 


MANCHESTER  YARN  CONTRACT  RULES. 


RULE  i.— The  actual  weight  of  cop  yarn  shall  be  invoiced,  including  tubes  if 
.the  yarn  be  ordered  on  tubes. 

RULE  2.— (a)  When  warps  or  backbeams  are  sold  on  the  basis  of  scale  weight 
and  the  counts  are  coarse,  the  seller  may  not  invoice  in  excess  of  one  per  cent,  over 
the  calculation  weight,  (b)  When  sold  by  calculation  weight  any  deficiency  ex- 
ceeding one  per  cent,  shall  be  allowed  to  the  buyer. 

RULE  3.— For  bundle  yarns  a  pressed  10  Ib.  bundle  must  contain  not  less  than 
o  Ibs.  14  oz.,  and  a  pressed  5  Ib.  bundle  not  less  than  4  Ibs.  15  oz.  of  yarn.  This  rule 
does  not  apply  to  long  bundles. 

RULE  4.— The  number  of  hanks  in  a  bundle,  taking  840  yards  to  the  hank,  must 
indicate  the  counts  of  the  yarn,  "sewings"  and  "fancy  yarns''  excepted. 

RULE  5.  In  case  of  dispute  as  to  counts,  length,  weight,  or  condition,  the  yarn 
shall  be  tested  by  and  according  to  the  rules  of  the  Manchester  Testing  House,  and 
its  certificate  shall  be  binding  on  both  parties,  who,  however,  shall  have  the  right  to 
be  represented  when  the  samples  to  be  tested  are  drawn. 

RULE  6  —Either  buyer  or  seller  has  the  right  to  ask  the  Manchester  Testing 
House  to  repeat  the  test,  and  in  that  case  the  average  result  of  the  tests  shall  be 
taken  as  final  and  binding  on  both  parties. 

RULE  7.— The  seller  has  a  right  to  replace  rejected  yarn  if  he  offers  to  do  so 
within  the  original  time  of  delivery,  and  free  of  all  expense  to  the  buyer. 

RULE  8.— If  "delivery  as  required"  is  specified,  or  if  no  time  is  specified,  the. 
contract  must  be  completed  in  six  months,  and  particulars  furnished  accordingly. 

RULE  Q.— "Delivery  to  follow"  shall  be  held  to  mean  at  the  same  rate  of  delivery 
as  that  of  the  last  preceding  contract  for  the  same  description  and  quality  of  yarn. 

RULE  io.— If  a  contract  is  entered  for  delivery  at  specified  dates,  thecancelment 
of  any  portion  shall  not  affect  the  remainder  of  the  contract,  each  portion  being 
deemed  a  separate  contract. 

RULE  ii.— Payment  of  an  overdue  account  shall  be  a  condition  precedent  to 
further  delivery.  Delivery-may  be  suspended  by  the  seller  whenever  any  payment 
is  in  arrear  for  accepted  delivery,  or  for  any  delivery  respecting  which  formal 
notice  of  rejection  or  claim  has  not  been  given  by  the  buyer. 

RULE  12.— In  case  of  a  strike,  lock*out,  break-down,  fire,  or  other  unavoidable 
occurence,  the  party  affected  shall  give  written  notice  of  his  inability  to  make  or 
accept  delivery  (as  the  case  may  be),  and  it.  shall  then  be  at  the  option  of  the  other 
side,  «the  aggrieved  party,  either  to  agree  to  the  postponement  of  delivery  or  within 
ten  days  to  give  notice  to  dose  the  contract,  and  to  pay  or  receive  the  difference  in 
price,  such  difference  to  be  fixed  by  the  tribunal  of  arbitration.  Contracts  for  yarn 
for  shipment  to  foreign  countries  are  excepted  from  this  rule. 

RULE  13.— In  default  of  delivery  by  the  seller  at  the  rate  or  within  the  time 
specified  in  the  contract,  of  any  quantity  of  yarn  .bought  from-him,  the  buyer  may 
purchase  such  quantity  of  similar  quality  in  the  open  market,  charging  to. the 
seller  the  excess,  if  any,  over  the  contract  price  which  he  may  have  had  to  pay  in 
making  such  purchase.  If  default  of  acceptance  of  delivery  by.  the  buyer  at  the 
rate  or  within  the  time  specified  in  the  contract  of  any  quantity  of  yarn  sold  to  him, 
the  seller  ma'y  dispose  of  such  quantity  in  the  open  market,  charging  to  the  buyer 
the  deficiency,  if  any,  as  between  the  contract  price  and  the  price  realized  by  such 
sale.  In  either  case  three  clear  days'  notice  in  writing  shall  be  given  of  the  inten- 
tion either  to  buy  or  sell  and  the  quantity  of  yarn  bought  or  sold  shall  be  deducted 
from  the  contract. 

RULE  14.— In  case  of  dispute  the  decision  whether  a  delivery  may  or  may  not  be 
rejected,  and  what  damages  shall  be  paid  for  breach  of  contract,  shall  be  left  to  the 
tribunal  of  arbitration. 


©I 


SL  WINDING 

PARTS  i  ALL.     INTER  CHA'NGEAB  L 


Proper  treatment  of 
silk  necessitates  the 
fineness  of  design, 
material  and  work- 
manship embodied  in 
Universal  Winding 
Machines. 


IVERSAL  WINDING 

EES    AND    SOLE     MANUPAC 

BOSTON 


PATENTEES    AND    SOLE     MANUFACTURERS 


u8a 


PRICE  LIST 
OF  SINGLE  LEATHER  BELTING 

(Discounts  of  from,  appoximately,  45  %  to  60  % 
are  given,  according  to  quality) 

i  inch...  $0.12 
f   15 

1  7  inch...  $  4.08 
18    4.32 

PATENT  ROUND 

£  inch...  .38  cts 
f        .....  48  cts 
f        ....  60  cts 

*                 .18 

19                 4.56 

1   21 

20    4.80 

1                   .24 

21     5.04 
22                 528 

|       80  cts 

14-                 30 

1        96ots 

u   36 

23     5.52 

4? 

?4                     5  76 

2     48 

25     6.00 

TWIST. 

I  inch..  .  .  8  cts 
^       12  cts 
i        17  cts 

T57T                             22  CtS 

2i                 .54 

26                 624 

24   .60 

27    6.48 

21                 .66 

28    6.72 

3     ......     .72 

29    6.96 

3i                 .78 

30    7  20 

I       27  cts 
£       38  cts 
48  cts 
60  cts 
80  cts 
I       .....96  cts 

3£   84 

32    7.68 

3?                 .90 

34           .,816 

4     96 
41    1.08 

36    864 

38    9.12 

5       ...     1.20 

40                 960 

5*                  .32 

42     10.08 

6                   .44 

44             .  1056 

CUT  LACING. 
Per  Bundle 
of  100  feet 

i  inch....  $1.25 
A       1.50 
A                  1.75 

64                 .56 

46    11.04 

7                   .68 

48             .  1  1  52 

8     92 

50    12.00 

9     2.16 

52     1248 

10     2.40 

54    12.96 

11      2.64 

56    1344 

12     ......  2.88 

60    .  14.40 

13       3.12 

64    15.36 

2.00 

14     3.36 

68    ...   ..  16.32 

£        2.25 

15     3.60 

72    17.28 

f        3.00 
|        3.75 

16     3.84 

Try 

Schieren's 
Duxbak 
Spindle 
Belts 

Satisfaction  Guaranteed 
or  money  refunded 


Tanners 
Belt  Manufacturers 


Cable  Address,  "SCHIEREN— NEW  YORK" 

NEW  YORK  -     30-38  Ferry  St. 

CHICAGO  -       128  W.  Kinzie  St. 

BOSTON      -  -       641-643  Atlantic  Are. 

PHILADELPHIA  -        226  North  3d  St. 

PITTSBURG  -         205  Wood  St. 

DENVER  -      1752  Arapahoe  St. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.  Cor.  I3th  St.  &  3d  Ave. 

HAMBURG,  GERMANY        -  -        Auf  dem  Sande  I 

OAK  LEATHER  TANNERIES  -  -            -       Bristol,  Term. 


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PRACTICAL  RULES  FOR  DETERMINING  SIZE  AND  SPEED 
OF  PULLEYS  AND  GEARS 

To  Determine  the  Diameter  of  Driving  Pulley. 
Multiply   the    diameter   of   the    driven    pulley   by   its    number   of 
revolutions  per  minute,   and   divide   this  product  by  the   number  of 
revolutions  of  the  driver. 

To  Determine  the  Diameter  of  Driven  Pulley. 

Multiply  the  diameter  of  the  driver  pulley  by  its  number  of  revo- 
lutions per  minute,  and  divide  this  product  by  the  number  of  revo- 
lutions of  the  driven. 

To  Determine  the  Speed  of  Driving  Pulley. 

Multiply  the  diameter  of  the  driven  pulley  by  its  number  of  revo- 
lutions per  minute,  and  divide  this  product  by  the  diameter  of  the 
driver. 

To  Determine  the  Speed  of  Driven  Pulley. 

Multiply  the  diameter  of  the  driver  by  its  number  of  revolutions 
per  minute,  and  divide  this  product  by  the  diameter  of  the  driven. 

To  Determine  the  Size  and  Speed  of  Gears. 

Substitute  the  number  of  teeth  in  the  gear  for  the  diameter  of 
pulley. 

GOOD  BELTING  PRACTICE. 

To  Find  the  Length  of  a  Belt. 

Add  the  diameters  of  the  two  pulleys  together;  multiply  by  3%; 
divide  the  product  by  two;  add  to  the  quotient  twice  the  difference 
between  the  centres  of  the  shafts.  The  product  will  be  the  required 
length. 

To  Calculate  the  Power  of  a  Belt. 

Multiply  its  speed  in  feet  per  minute  by  its  width,  and  divide  by 
1,000  for  single  and  by  700  for  double  belts.  The  quotient  will  be 
the  horsepower. 

To  Find  the  Approximate  Belt-speed. 

Divide  the  diameter  in  inches  of  one  of  the  pulleys  by  4,  and  mul- 
tiply the  result  by  the  number  of  revolutions  of  the  pulley  per  min- 
ute. The  result  will  be  the  approximate  belt-speed  in  feet  per  minute. 


A  belt  that  slips,  producing  a  bright  or  worn  pulley,  reduces  your 
output. 


A  properly  designed  Belt  Tightener  for  main  drives  will  add  40 
per  cent,  to  the  life  of  a  belt.  This  is  particularly  true  if  the  belt  is 
overloaded. 


Use  24-ounce  belts  on  10-inch  diameter,  28-ounce  on  14-inch,  30- 
ounce  on  20-inch.  As  belts  increase  in  width  make  them  thicker — 90 
per  cent,  of  swaying  belts  can  be  cured  by  increasing  their  thickness. 
Make  them  narrower  if  you  do  not  need  the  horse  power.  Make  all 
quarter  or  full  twist  narrow  and  as  heavy  as  your  pulleys  will  allow. 

Belts  should  be  cleaned  and  greased  every  six  months. 


Broad  Silk  Looms  driven  by  totally  enclosed,  continuous  running  type,  alternating  current  motors 

Electric  Individual  Drive  Is  Economical 

The  difference  in  first  cost,  between  individual  motor  drive  and  mechanical  group  drive,  is  »o 
slight  that  it  is  not  at  all  comparable  with  the  advantages  secured.  The  owner  of  one  large  mill 
found  that,  considering  the  cost  of  mill  construction  in  each  case,  the  individual  drive  for  looms  costs 
only  $  1 4.00  per  loom  more  than  a  modern  group  drive  with  overhead  shafts. 

In  replacing  an  old  mechanical  group  drive,  with  individual  motor  drive,  the  cost  will  at  first 
appear  excessive  but  the  gain,  by  such  a  change,  in  the  increase  in  production  together  with  other 
advantages  among  which  the  following  must  be  considered,  will  soon  convince  the  up-to-date  mill 
man  that  the  new  form  of  drive  has  paid  for  itself  in  dollars  and  cents. 

A  few  advantages  of  individual  drive  vs.  mechanical  group  drive : — 

Uniformity  of  speed— better  "beat  up"  on  looms— 
>        less  wear  and  tear  on  machinery. 

Increase    in    production— higher  average  speed  of 

driven  machinery. 
Better  quality   of  product — due  to  uniformity  of 

speed. 
Better  light— absence  of  belts  from  overhead  shafts. 

Up-keep   low— small    repair   cost   for   motors — fewer 
breakages  of  machinery. 


Cleanliness — no  dust,  oily  lint  or  oil  thrown  on  goods  as 
in  the  case  of  belts  and  overhead  shafting— preferable 
to  operator. 

Safety — no  belts  to  catch  operators'  clothing — no  holes  in 
floor,  as  in  the  case  of  under  drive,  to  increase  fire  hazard. 

Flexibility — offers  greater  latitude  in  locating  machinery 

Economy — More  efficient  than  any  group  drive  on  ac- 
count of  the  high  efficiency  of  the  individual  motor — 
cheaper  cost  of  power  for  overtime  work- 
losses  due  to  breakdowns. 


The  power  expert  in  our  nearest  office  will  be  glad  to  study  your  problems  and  show  you  how 
an  electric  drive  will  pay  you. 

General  Electric  Company 

Largest  Electrical  Manufacturer  in  the  World 


General  Off  ice:  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 
Mill  Power  Dept. :     Boston,  Mass. 


Sales  Offices  in  Forty  Eight  Cities 
Textile     Specialists     Located     in 


Boston 
Buffalo 

New  Haven 
Cincinnati 

New  York 
Chicago 

„      Philadelphia 
Chattanooga 

Schenectady 
Atlanta 

Syracuse 
Baltimore 
3890 

HORSE  POWER  OF  STEEL  SHAFTING 


FOR  LINE  SHAFT  SERVICE 


Shaft 

REVOLUTIONS   PER    MINUTE 

Max.  Dist. 

Sizns 

Between 

Inches 

100 

125 

150 

175 

200 

225 

250 

300 

350 

400 

Bearines 

IT* 

2.4 

3.1 

3.7 

4.3 

4.9 

5.5 

6.1 

7.3 

8.5 

9.7 

1  f 

4.3 

5.3 

6.4 

7.4 

8.5 

9.5 

10.5 

12.7 

14.8 

16.9 

""6.8" 

jit 

6.7 

8.4 

10.1 

11.7 

13.4 

15.1 

16.7 

20.1 

23.4 

26.8 

7.2" 

HS 

10.0 

12.5 

15.0 

17.5 

20.0 

22.5 

25.0 

30.0 

35.0 

40.0 

8.2" 

2  * 

14.3 

17.8 

21.4 

24.9 

28.5 

3*.l 

35.6 

42.7 

49.8 

57.0 

8.9" 

2\ 

19.5 

24f4 

29.3 

34,1 

39.0 

44  1 

48.7 

58.5 

68.2 

78.0 

9.6" 

2\i 

26.0 

32.5 

39.0 

43.5 

52.0 

58.5 

65.0 

78.0 

87.0 

1040 

10.2" 

2{l 

33.8 

42.2 

50.6 

59.1 

67.5 

75.9 

84.4 

101.3 

118.2 

X35.0 

10.8" 

43.0 

536 

64.4 

75.1 

85.8 

96.6 

107.3 

128.7 

150.3 

171.6 

11.4" 

3  T 

53.6 

67.0 

79.4 

93.8 

107.2 

120.1 

134.0 

158.8 

187.6 

214.4 

12.0" 

3U 

65.9 

82.4 

97.9 

115.4 

121.8 

148.3 

164.8 

195.7 

230.7 

243.6 

12.5" 

3[J 

80.0 

100.0 

120.0 

140.0 

160.0 

180.0 

200.0 

240.0 

280.0 

3200 

113.9* 

142.4 

170.8 

199.3 

227.8 

256.2 

284.7 

341.7 

3986 

4556 

4if 

156.3 

195.3 

234.4 

273.4 

312.5 

351.5 

390.6 

468.7 

546.8 

625.0 

".'.  '.  '. 

etx 

207.9 

260.0 

311.9 

363.9 

415.9 

459.9 

520.0 

623.9 

727.9 

830.0 

g' 

2700 

337.5 

405.0 

472.5 

540.0 

607.5 

675.0 

810.0 

945.0 

1080.0 

6^ 

343.3 

429.0 

514.9 

600.7 

686.5 

772.4 

858.0 

1029.0 

1201.0 

1372.0 

7 

428.8 

535.9 

643.1 

750.3 

847.5 

964.7 

1071.9 

1286.0 

1500.0 

1695.0 

8 

640.6 

800.0 

960.0 

1126.0 

1280.0 

1440.0 

1600.9 

1920.0 

2240.0 

2560.0 

COLD   ROLLED  STEEL  SHAFTING 

WEIGHTS  PER  FOOT  AND  UST  PRICES 


(Discounts  of  approximately  50  per  cent  are  allowed  from  the  list  prices) 


BLEACHING,    DRYING,     DYEING     AND 
FINISHING      MACHINERY 


FOR    TEXTILE    FABRICS 


TWO    BURNER    GAS    SINGE  (TULP1N    STYLE) 

H.  W.  BUTTERWORTH    &   SONS    CO. 

PHILADELPHIA,     PA. 


i26a 


SPEED  OF  CUTS  FOR  MACHINE  TOOLS. 

Brass :     Use  high  speeds,  about  the  same  as  for  wood. 

Bronze :     6  to  18  ft.  per  minute,  according  to  alloy  used. 

Cast  or  wrought  iron:  20  ft.  per  minute  is  a  good  average 
for  all  machines  except  millers;  30  is  about  the  maximum. 

Machinery  steel :  15  ft.  on  planers,  shapers,  and  slotters;  20 
to  45  on  turret  lathes,  according  to  cut. 

Tool  steel :    8  to  10  feet. 

Milling  Cutters. 

Gun  metal,  80  ft.  per  minute;  cast  iron,  30;  wrought  iron, 
35  to  40;  machinery  steel,  30.  These  are  good  speeds  to  adopt, 
with  a  view  to  economy,  time  required  for  regrinding,  etc. 

Twist  Drills. 

The  best  results  are  obtained  when  the  rates  of  speed  of 
twist  drills  are  as  given  in  the  following  table : 


Diam.  of       Rev.  per  Min. 


drills 


Steel  Iron 
940  1280 
460  660 
310 
230 


190 

150 
I30 

H5 

no 
95 
85 
75 
70 


58 


420 
320 
260 
220 

1s 

1 60 
140 
130 
H5 
105 
100 
90 

85 
80 


Brass 
1560 

785 
540 
400 
320 
260 
230 

200 
1 80 

160 

130 

120 

110 
IOO 


Diam.  of         Rev.  per  Min. 
drills        Steel      Iron       Brass 


I5/16 

1% 

I7/16 

M 

I9/16 
1% 


1% 

1 

2 


54 
52 

49 

46 

44 
42 
40 
39 

32 
36 

34 
33 
32 
3i 
30 
29 


75 
70 
66 
62 
60 
58 
56 
54 
5i 
49 
47 
45 
43 
4i 
40 

39 


95 


£ 

75 
72 

69 
66 

63 
60 

58 
56 
54 
52 
5i 
49 


The  following  are  recommended  as  the  best  rates  of  speed 
for  twist  drills : 

Diameter   of   drill:      Vie  to  V*          %  to  %          %  to  i% 
Number  of  rev.  per  in. 

depth  of  hole:  125  120  to  140    I  in.  feed  per  min. 

(From  "Mechanics'  Pocket  Memoranda,"  Pub.  by  Int.  Cor.  Schools, 

Scranton,  Pa.) 

NOTE. — Faster  speeds  than  some  of  those  given  above  have 
become  common  since  these  figures  were  first  published.  Speeds 
for  high-speed  steel  tools  are  also  very  much  greater. 


RICE,  BARTON  &  FALES  MACHINE 
AND  IRON  COflPANY 

WORCESTER,    MASSACHUSETTS 


SINCE     1837     BUILDERS    OF 

TEXTILE  PRINTING  MACHINERY 

For  over  three  quarters  of  a  century  we  have  been  specialists  in  the  building  of 
TEXTILE  PRINTING  MACHINERY,  and  build  machines  for  printing  from 
one  to  fourteen  colors,  on  any  width  of  goods.  We  build  patented  machines  for  doing 
DUPLEX  and  INTERMITTENT  printing.  Our  Electrical  Engineer  is  a 
specialist  in  MOTOR  DRIVES  for  printing  machinery.  Our  equipment,  exper- 
ience and  organization  are  at  your  service. 


i28a 


(TJgBLE  PUBLISHED  BY  THE  CLEVELAND  TWIST  DRILL  CO.) 

THE  SPEED  OF  CARBON  STEEL  DRILLS 

A  feed  per  revolution  of  .004  to  .007  inch  for  drifc  ^  inch  and  smaller, 
and  from  .007  to  .015  inch  for  larger  is  about  all  that  should  be  required. 

This  feed  is  based  on  a  peripheral  speed  of  a  drill  equal  to  : 
30  feet  per  minute  for  steel  ; 
35  feet  per  minute  for  iron  ; 
60  feet  per  minute  for  brass. 
It  may  also  be  found  advisable  to  vary  the  speed  somewhat  according  as 
the  material  to  be  drilled  is  more  or  lees  refractory. 
We  believe  that  these  speeds  should  not  be  exceeded  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances. 

TABLE  OF  CUTTING  SPEEDS 

Ft.  per 
Minute 

15' 

20' 

25' 

30' 

36' 

40' 

45' 

60^ 

60' 

70' 

80' 

DIAM- 
ETER 

REVOLUTIONS    PER    MINUTE 

i^in. 

917. 

L223. 

L528. 

1834. 

2140. 

2445. 

2751. 

3057. 

3668. 

4280. 

4891. 

X 

459. 

611. 

764. 

917. 

1070. 

1222. 

1375. 

1528. 

1834. 

2139. 

2445. 

i 

306. 

408. 

509. 

611. 

713. 

816. 

917. 

1019. 

1222. 

1426. 

1630. 

1A 

22$. 

306. 

382. 

458. 

635. 

611. 

688. 

764. 

917. 

1070. 

1222. 

6 

183. 

245. 

306. 

367. 

428. 

489. 

550. 

611. 

733. 

856. 

978. 

X 

153. 

204. 

255. 

306. 

357. 

408. 

458. 

609. 

611. 

713. 

816. 

A 

131. 

175. 

218. 

262. 

306. 

340. 

393. 

437. 

524. 

611. 

699. 

H 

116. 

153. 

191.. 

229. 

268. 

306. 

344. 

382. 

459. 

535. 

611. 

ii 

91.8 

123. 

163. 

184. 

214. 

246. 

276. 

306. 

367. 

428. 

489. 

% 

76.3 

102. 

127. 

153. 

178. 

203. 

229. 

254. 

306. 

357. 

^08. 

% 

65.5 

87.3 

109. 

131. 

153. 

175. 

196. 

219. 

262. 

306. 

349. 

i 

57.3 

76.4 

95.5 

115. 

134. 

163. 

172. 

191. 

229. 

267. 

306. 

IK 

61.0 

68.0 

85.0 

102. 

119. 

136. 

163. 

170. 

204. 

238. 

272. 

IK 

45.8 

61.2 

76.3 

91.8 

107. 

123. 

•137. 

163. 

183. 

214. 

245. 

iys 

41.7 

55.6 

69.6 

83.3 

97.2 

111. 

126. 

139. 

167. 

195. 

222. 

iy2 

38.2 

50.8 

63.7 

76.3 

89.2 

102. 

115. 

127. 

153. 

178. 

204. 

l« 

35.0 

47.0 

68.8 

70.6 

82.2 

93.9 

106. 

117. 

141. 

166. 

188. 

1M 

32.7 

43.6 

54.5 

65.5 

76.4 

87.3 

98.2 

109. 

131. 

153. 

176. 

1% 

30.6 

40.7 

50.9 

61.1 

71.3 

81.6 

91.9 

102. 

122. 

143. 

163. 

2 

28.7 

38.2 

47.8 

57.3 

66.9 

76.4 

86.0 

95.5 

115. 

134. 

153. 

VA 

25.4 

34.0 

42.4 

61.0 

69.4 

68.0 

76.2 

85.0 

102. 

119. 

136. 

zy* 

22.9 

30.6 

38.2 

45.8 

63.5 

61.2 

68.8 

76.3 

91.7 

107. 

122. 

2H 

20.8 

27.8 

34.7 

41.7 

48.6 

55.6 

62.5 

69.5 

83.4 

97.2 

111. 

3 

19.1 

25.5 

31.8 

38.2 

44.6 

61.0 

67.3 

63.7 

76.4 

89.1 

102. 

"THE  BEST  IS  GOOD  ENOUGH" 

Silk  Soap 

The  American  Silk  Industry  has  grown  up  from  infancy 
with  these  famous  brands,  used  forty  years. 

GALLIPOLI,  white,  Olive  Oil  only. 

GAL  LI  POL  I  A,  green,  Olive  Soapstock  only. 

BROWN  OIL  SILK.  Red  Oil  only. 


:D  Coles  and  18th  Streets 

JERSEY  CITY,  N.  J. 

Patrons  east  of  the  Hudson  River  should  use  our  NEW  YORK 
TELEPHONE,  4518  Cortlandt  —  direct  private  wire  to  this  office. 

Patrons  west  of  the  Hudson  River  should  use  our 
JERSEY  TELEPHONE,  407  Jersey  City. 

THE   HOLBROOK   MFG.   CO. 


1303 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 
LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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C8481slO)476B 


General  Library 
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TT        (C8481slO)476B  .        ,  ,  . 

We  Design   1  ransmission 
Equipments  for  Silk  Mills 


WRITE  US  for  DESCRIPTIVE  CIRCULARS 


YC   18525 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

I"H  for  Parrot  Brand  Olive  Silk  Soap,  and, 
1  A  taking  into  consideration  it's  purity  and 
saving  to  the  buyer,  it  costs  less  per  pound 
than  other  brands.  A  pure,  reliable  product 
cannot  be  made  for  a  song,  and  in  order  to 
make  one  and  guarantee  it,  as  we  do,  it  is 
necessary  to  allow  nothing  but  the  purest 
and  best  materials  to  enter  the  making.  We 
charge,  in  comparison,  only  a  very  reasonable 
price  for  what  you  receive.  We  don't  match 
samples,  neither  do  we  make  a  price,  then 
make  the  product  to  fit  the  price,  we  ship 
only  our  regular  standard  brand. 


Established  1877 

Chas.  W.  Young  &  Co 

Makers  of  Soaps  of  Merit 
Philadelphia.  Pa. 


